The Silent Revolution
by MonsterZed
Summary: Caught and awaiting death sentence after events of chapter 52, Tatsumi has two choices - face his fate, or accept Esdese's offer to join her and Jaegers with a full pardon. Willing to die at first, he discovers revolution may have a powerful ally in general Budou when it comes to dealing with corrupt prime minister and decides to live...
1. Chapter 1 - Kill the resistance

Chapter I. Kill the resistance.

It was a cold and bloody night at imperial prison. At least the screams coming from lower levels and traces of blood in Tatsumi's own cell attested to the latter part. While it was not his own blood, it was clear this was not a place one could hope to leave the next day...at least not alive.

However of all the prisoners there, he was by far the luckiest one. Well..as lucky as a guy waiting to be tried and executed can be. While being empire's sworn enemy - a member of revolutionary army's assassination and covert operations squad - the infamous "Night Raid", he still had a gateway to freedom and full pardon from empire's side. The problem was the person holding said gate - the very same one that caught and imprisoned him - the empire's strongest - general Esdese.

A woman known for her unmatched power on the battle field and equally great lack of compassion for her enemies. There was not a single torturer in the empire or near it's borders that would not know her name and many torture techniques she herself invented. Torture techniques that she often employed and improved upon on "enemies of the empire".

"Hardened criminals", whose "heinous crimes" ranged from stealing food, due to outrages taxation of their own income, delays in paying an arm and a leg in said taxes, raising voice in public against capitol's all present corruption, or being in the wrong place and time, when someone close to prime minister Honest wanted something that was originally meant for them. There were of course quite a handful of revolutionary army's soldiers in there too. In short people who did the smart thing and rebelled, before becoming members of previous groups.

Yet all those things were dry facts to Esdese, while her immeasurable love for Tatsumi was something she felt and he kept showering him with every day, even in this cell, much to his dismay. Receiving her affection, watching her bring him her home made meals to this hell hole, along with repeated offer of full pardon and a place at her side as subordinate would be a heaven's gift for anyone else in this situation. Being saved by her from rape at hands of his previous enemy together with a member of sickest group of freaks he'd ever seen, did not escape is attention either.

However, he was a member of Night Raid - a sworn enemy of empire and it's corruption, currently locked up in a place that was a screaming testament to it's putrid nature.  
>And she was Empire's general with no remorse for her actions whatsoever, nor a slightest care for things like justice, wellbeing of royal subjects or a normal concept of love.<br>To her there existed only the strong and the weak, death and suffering being a natural fate of the weak.  
>Though at the same time she was able to display unwavering loyalty, love and care for those who stood at her side. Always from a dominating position however, even in love.<p>

**4 days to trial.**

"Tatsumi, listen to reason. Why rot in this cell and await all too obvious execution after your trial, if you can be my mine and live?" exclaimed Esdese with her hand on her heart and tone full of genuine care.

"You mean why die with honor, when I can stab the memory of my childhood friends in the back, tear apart the hearts of my friends in Night Raid, and support the empire that brought about all this misery in the first place?!" He responded furiously.

"If they're your friends, then where are they now?! Oh yes, one is in the torture chamber getting mutilated by prime minister's son, and the rest doesn't lift a finger to help any of you. Both products of their weakness." Esdese summarized their situation with a cold, yet visibly angry voice.

Tatsumi's teeth clenched and grinded against each other.

"YOU...DARE SPEAK OF FRIENDSHIP? YOU, WHO NEVER HAD A FRIEND, JUST OBEDIENCE AND FEAR AROUND YOURSELF?!" Those words stabbed Esdese in the heart like a jagged spear of ice, causing her to fall silent for good 10 seconds. But this was no time to be weak, lest she watch her loved one get executed in public view, probably by her own hand..

"Call it what you like Tatsumi. But what good is a friend that is too weak to save you in your time of need? Ideals make for a beautiful writings on one's tombstone, but it's the strength that allows both love and friendship to live on.", she stated calmly but decisively.

"If you love me so, why didn't you use that strength of yours to save Lubbock? And to help us oppose this rotten and corrupt Empire?!", Tatsumi's disappointment and regret echoing in her ears.

"That's not how it works Tatsumi. The weak do not command the strong, and you're the weak one here. Though your strength is exceptional, you are neither in position nor power to order me what to do. Don't expect an imperial general to save every Night Raid member that trips up during their attempt at lives of those I'm sworn to protect. Be grateful that thanks to my power i was able to bargain for your life in front of the emperor." she voiced her authority in a cold, dominating voice.

"Well that's one investment that's not gonna bring any returns", he snarled. "Not unless you do something about Lubbock's situation".

_'Tatsumi...' _she thought.

"I see further discussion will not help reach that small speck of land called reason in your ocean of idealistic stupidity. We will continue this discussion tomorrow. For now cool your head off, and realize that a dead man can't save anyone." stated Esdese as she left the cell.

**2 hours later, Esdese's office.**

A silent but orderly knock is heard at the door.  
>"Wave reporting!" - the young blue haired Yeager shouted in formal tone.<br>"Come in Wave, on time as usual. Take a seat, we have a bit of talking to do".  
><em>'Gulp...i remember yesterday - she didn't come to the evening meeting because things didn't go well with Tatsumi. I couldn't sleep for 3 hours because screams from torture chamber kept me up..'<br>_"It's about Tatsumi.."  
>"OH DEAR LORD! PLEASE GENERAL! I KNOW I FAILED TO CAPTURE HIM BACK THEN BUT YOU ALREDY PUNISHED ME! HAVE MERCYYYY!" Wave cried dropping on the floor, bowing faster then he normally swings his sword..<br>"Get up Wave, I won't torture you...for now. I just need to talk."  
>"Y-yes!"<br>He replied getting back on his feet and taking his place in a chair hoping this conversation ends sooner then the illusive "for now"..

"I tried reasoning with Tatsumi, but that doesn't seem to work too well.."  
>"No offense general, but any of us could guess that outcome well before the conversation started" said Wave with slight grin on his face.<br>One very short and equally icy stare from the general put that to a quick rest.  
>"Ekhum...anyway General. You came to the right person - me and Tatsumi are quite alike".<br>"I know, she sighed. I tried asking Kurome first, but that wasn't the best idea..."  
>"Oh, how so?"<br>"When asked about a way to get Tatsumi to join me, she offered to stab him with Yatsufusa after execution."  
>"That's about what I expected." said Wave with yet another smirk on his face..<br>"When i told her that's out of the question, she then offered to kill him herself before execution...and stab him with Yatsufusa."  
>"I see...well you can't deny her focus on efficiency.." Wave commented with both of them dropping their heads and sighing heavily..<br>"So Wave, what's your take on the problem?"

"Well Tatsumi's a hot head, that is quite impervious to any form of reasoning. On top of that his goals are exact opposite of yours. However he does not seem to hate you with a passion."  
>"So i should drop the reasoning and go for sweet talking him into it?" Said Esdese with visible blush.<br>"No, he's already trying to use your affection as a bargain chip to get his friend free. He would have to love you more then Night Raid for that to happen".  
>"Then I'll just make him love me more", she replied with unusual vigor in her voice, and sadistic smile on her face.<br>"Whoa! That's not the best idea general! Remember he's not afraid to die!"  
>"Then what do you suggest i do?" Esdese inquired returning to her normal demeanor."<br>"The way I see it, you have to convince him, that by joining you, he will be able to achieve his goal faster then with Night Raid. Given we can't do anything for his friend..."  
>"You know I can't do that. I can't just happily give him a mission to kill the Prime Minister."<p>

"That is something he'll need to adjust to. Rather then killing, getting the evidence and putting guilty behind bars, like a true Jaeger, and not some assassin.  
>If he's to walk as one of us, he has to act the part, else he'll be back on trial before you know it. And besides, I too would like to fix the corruption of this empire, for starters for her sake.." Wave confessed with sadness and compassion in his voice.<p>

"Hm...that does sound like a plan. We'll see if it works tomorrow. Well done Wave, you may return to your quarter".  
>"Thank you general!" Wave shouted and quickly marched out the door.<p>

'Any night when you don't wind up in torture chamber is a good night', he though to himself. Also having Tatsumi alive, aiding with cleaning the empire from corruption and keeping Esdese happy is one idea Wave was definitely looking forward to. Even if there was a big fat punch in it for Tatsumi as a "thank you" for Wave's unplanned torture session and turning his back on the Jaegers a while ago.

**3 days to trial, 6:00 am**

"Well lookey here, everything the same, save your ugly mug being 8 hours uglier, and i thought it impossible", said a voice coming down the stairs near Tatsumi's cell.  
>"If there's one good thing about seeing that excuse for an ass you call a face, is that now I'll get to drink wine to forget it, and pick up women while you'll be standing here, looking stupid. So basically the usual, only motionless." replied the guard who was posted on night shift in front of the cell .<br>"Yeah, yeah, knowing your charming personality, all the women will probably run right here, preferring safety of a cell over freedom with you! Anyway, switch time, enjoy terrorizing the city", retorted Tatsumi's day shift guard with clear satisfaction in his voice.  
>"Yeah, try not to make any prisoners commit suicide by opening that helm of yours", the now free guard parted with his replacement with this last verbal jab.<p>

**Few minutes later.**

"Hey kid, you haven't been eating a crumb lately, and the general is not the type to hold her worries pinned inside, if you know what i mean."  
>"Meaning?"<br>"Let's just say the guards are wearing extra layers of armor recently.."  
>"...I'm to be tried and executed, you expect me to eat my veggies and drink my milk?"<br>"Just try not to get us killed cause someone is throwing a fit about his lunch. Hell it's way better then stuff i chuck down my stomach everyday..".  
>"Like I care about corrupted military's lives!"<br>"You think only people on your side of the bars are fed up with it?.."  
>"...Like you didn't sell your soul to those bastards!?"<br>"Listen kid, I'm a guard, with a family to feed. And I sure don't won't them executed or thrown into torture chamber. But that doesn't mean I ain't got eyes in my head. Don't expect me to let you out, or conspire with you, but I can sympathize with your situation at least, and grant a reasonable request."  
>"...my request can't be granted by neither you or Esdese...this empire will remain rotten to the core, unless someone does something!"<p>

Guard lowered his voice.  
>"...between you and me...what if I told you there is someone like that in this palace..?"<br>"..? What? Can you repeat that?" Tatsumi suddenly snapped out of it like someone threw a bucket of cold water on him.  
>"Let's both help each other here, ok? You eat your dinner from general like a good boy, and tomorrow morning, when I hear guards had one night without fearing for their lives, I'll share the whole story with you."<br>"You better not be lying to me..."  
>"Believe me, last thing i want to do is lie to someone general Esdese cares so much about. I value my time away from the torture chamber."<br>"Fine. It's a deal then."

**15:00 **

"Open the door, give me the keys and leave. Return in 4 hours."  
>"Yes, general."<br>"Tatsumi, have you considered my offer?"  
>"My answer for now remains unchanged...but I won't say no to a good meal today."<br>_'For now? And suddenly you're willing to eat? You're not as weak-minded as this Tatsumi...has something made you change your mind?' _

"Well Tatsumi, you should've said so from the start", Esdese replied happily, sitting next to him and feeding him a danger beast sirloin in spicy sauce, with mashed potatoes and a glass of vine.  
>Tatsumi sure didn't hold back on his bites. Willpower is one thing, but empty stomach doesn't lie when not forced to refuse food.<br>"Conversations held with full stomach are always better" Esdese's humor clearly improved, as she gave Tatsumi a hug so tight, it nearly made all his effort of eating the dinner go to waste.  
>"Hey, e-easy! I'm supposed to be executed after a trial, not here and now!" he shouted desperately.<br>"Nobody here needs to be executed, if only they act reasonably" she reminded, holding his face in her hands looking with deep concern into his eyes.  
>"You know I won't yield, especially knowing my friend is in danger and what you stand for" he said firmly.<p>

"About that", said Esdese, fixing her hat and leaning backwards, her tone dropping to more official one.  
>"You think that Jaegers are nothing more then empire's lapdogs, to do it's bidding, with no regard for corruption eating it on the inside, is it not?"<br>"Do you intend to prove me wrong?" Tatsumi snarled with clear sarcasm in his voice.  
>"As a matter of fact. We can't have you running around killing people "because their evil", I'm sure you understand that. I will never join Night Raid nor let you act like one of them under my supervision.<br>That being said however, I can let you conduct searches, gather evidence and see that the corrupt in capitol do receive their deserved time in jail, or my torture chambers, as long as you do it the proper way."  
>"You don't strike me much as defender of justice Esdese. And if the corrupt were to face trial in this capitol, Night raid would be busy watering the daisies, not killing people."<br>_'Not throwing a raged fit, but using reason, __Tatsumi__? Good job Wave, things are going better then expected'_, thought Esdese.

"You're right - so you better stay alive and take charge of Jaeger corruption investigations, as you know what my favorite hobbies are if left unchecked", ice queen said giving a sly, sadistic yet gruesomely honest smile.  
>"With me on your side no 'accidents' will occur. You won't get to kill capitol's officials like during Night Raid days, but you'll get to operate far closer to empire's heart then Night Raid ever did, and without imperial army breathing down your neck."<p>

Her offer was alluring. Of course there could be no doubt that her goal was him, not justice. But on the other hand, Esdese never has shown much care for corruption or the aristocracy either. She's empire's strongest, she doesn't need hiding behind laws and frame-ups. He has no reason to believe she would want to sabotage that part of Jaeger activity. But there was still a matter of Lubbock and Night Raid.

"So what do you say, Tatsumi" said Esdese in most cute voice, reminding him of their time together on certain tropical island.  
><em>'Snap out of it, she's Esdese, not Mine, keep it together!' - <em>he scolded himself in his mind.  
>"Your offer sounds tempting." he replied coldly, "But that doesn't change the fact Lubbock is still jailed here, and we both know what will happen if you run into Night Raid. I can't just happily turn my back on either of them."<br>"You know you ask for impossible, Tatsumi." she used her official tone, full of authority.  
>"Be wise, before we'll both regret it" she finished in a cold, but much more silent, tone, eyes betraying her genuine concern, as she parted her ways with Tatsumi for the day.<br>_'Tatsumi, you may act tough, but i can see you hesitate. One way or another..you will be mine' _

**2 days to trial, 6:20 am **

After usual exchange of sympathy between the two guards, Tatsumi's morning shift guard initiated conversation:

"Guess you were eating like a tiger yesterday. General wasn't perhaps a walking field of flowers and rainbows, but you can say she let us off the hook tonight."  
>"Yeah, I kept my end of the deal, you keep yours."<br>"Deal's a deal, eh? Ok then, get over here" said the guard tapping the bars.  
>Tatsumi approached his cell door, where the two could keep their voice down.<br>"Well, as you now palace is full of guards, and it's no surprise that friendships develop here and there. And friends sometimes share little or not so little secrets they hear, even if they shouldn't. And this one will knock your socks off!"  
>"Well, out with it already!" urged Tatsumi, clearly excited about something for the first time since his capture.<p>

"A friend of mine was posted in a conference room, where the parliament including prime minister was discussing the threat of revolutionary army. All was going cowardly and sleazy as usual, until the great general Budou stormed in."  
>"Great general who?"<br>"Oh boy, and you're an assassin of Night Raid..dear me.."  
>"The Great General Budou - retainer of the capitol and sworn defender of the emperor. Said to be incredibly powerful, perhaps equal to Esdese. Oh, and the same guy that knocked you out before you wound up here."<br>"Him huh...so what about him?"  
>"Well, having assured the gutless cowards that the imperial Guard will hold the capitol and drive off the revolutionary army he said something most surprising - that he himself will deal with all threats to this empire no matter where or who they should be, as soon as he's done with the rebels. You follow kid?<br>"You mean he'll deal with enemies on the inside?"  
>"Let's just say that my friend said he was looking squarely at Prime Minster at that time.<p>

"..wait! Are you telling me that this monster who may be as powerful as Esdese is greatly interested in cleaning up empire's #1 scum?"  
>"All I'll say is that you didn't hear it from me, and I hope you'll be very hungry before your trial", said the guard clearly in good mood, lowering his helm moving few feet away from bars.<br>'If it's like this...then that information must reach Night Raid no matter what!' Someone with Esdese's power on the inside wanting to take Prime Minster out!

_'This changes a lot...I can't die now, who else will tell Night Raid of this? I wonder how Lubbock is doing too..'_

**15:00 **

"Tatsumi, you know i hurt seeing you locked in here, death getting nearer every day" Esdese's tone betrayed genuine concern.  
>"You belong with me, and time is getting short, i don't want to lose you!" - she nearly cried as she hugged him tightly.<br>"Esdese...what if I told you I accept?"  
>Her eyes widened with joy, not even letting him finish before he ended up in most live-threatening hug a man could wind up in.<br>"TATSUMI!"  
>"HEY, HEY, I SAID: WHAT IF?"<br>Esdese froze in place. "That last sentence better be a joke" she spoke in a menacing manner.

"Thing is..I decided to accept, but not without ensuring something is done for Lubbock. I'm willing to sever my ties to Night Raid, but I can't leave a comrade to die in a torture chamber a stone's throw away from me!"

"Tatsumi..." Esdese pulled back ..."I was told your friend tried to escape and killed prime minster's son."  
><em>'?! Way to go you wily bastard!'<em> Tatsumi thought.  
>"..but he has run into imperial guard and Wild Hunt, ending killed by the latter. There is nothing that can be done now."<br>_'Lubbock...'_  
>"I will hunt down and kill the bastard who did this!" Tatsumi roared from his cell.<br>"Belive me Tatsumi, I have little love for Wild Hunt myself - said Esdese in chilling voice full of murderous intent.  
>"But at this very moment it's your life that's my primary concern, and acting on blind rage will only seal you the same fate as him."<p>

"I DON'T CARE! I WANT THEM DEAD!" he screamed.  
>"Do you truly want to fight the empire's corruption by getting yourself killed and then leaving things be?" Esdese calmly pointed out the folly of his rage.<br>She hit a nerve and she knew it.

"..."

Snapping back to reason Tatsumi recalled the goal of Night Raid as well as news of General Budou. Here and now, the most important task for him was to learn more about this man, and get in touch with Night Raid. He owed that much to his friends, whose lives might be spared if someone else solves the problem faster and with smaller body count.

"You're right...thank you Esdese" he replied regaining his composure.  
>A huge sign of relief drew across her face, her arms pulling him again in deep hug, unwilling to let go anytime soon.<br>"I'm just glad you'll be with me", exclaimed empire's strongest, as her heart was burning with joy.  
>"Yeah, make room in Jaegers, you're getting a new member, replied Tatsumi through tears over his lost friend.<p>

**Trial averted. Evening, Jaeger dining room.**

"Everyone, I know it's sudden, but Tatsumi has returned to our side." announced Esdese in official voice.  
>"'Everyone' is a bit of exaggeration" he summarized, looking at all the empty chairs with only Kurome and Wave present.<p>

"Welcome back Tatsumi, it's good to have you back on our side, but as you can see...we suffered quite the losses." - Wave commented.  
>"Yhm..." nodded Kurome eating her cookies as usual.<br>_'__Y__eah, three of which our doing.'_ thought Tatsumi feeling regret over Bols' fate while none for Stylish and Seryu.  
>"A lot has happened, and I don't expect you to love me here, given I was in Night Raid" he said.<br>"All I can say is that I've seen the slaughter warfare causes and decided to try to fix empire from the inside, hopefully faster and with less casualties then via open revolution and assassinations.  
>"Well that, and there's certain someone who won't let me do anything stupid, said Tatsumi giving a small smile towards Esdese.<br>"Trying to suck up to your commanding officer will only get you punished" replied Esdese in a teasing tone.  
>"I will deal said punishment in my quarter" she concluded, her voice sounding almost official.<p>

"Well what's done is done" said Wave.  
>"Both sides have their casualties, but here and now we're on the same team, so let's work together to make this empire better", he extended his hand to Tatsumi.<br>"All right!" - Tatsumi gladly shook it.  
>"Uhm." nodded Kurome reaching for cookies.<br>"And if you ever think of leaving us, I'll just kill and stab you with Yatsufusa." she said with a tiny smile sending shivers up everyone's spine but Esdese's.  
>"With this the evening Jaegers meeting is concluded. Wave and Kurome, be on your best behavior to Tatsumi, and ready yourself for new company. I will soon request for new members to fill our ranks.<br>"Yes ma'am!" the replied leaving for their quarters.

"Now Tatsumi.." she said sporting a big perverted smile on her face revealing all the ill intention she had.  
>"Time to face your punishment..." - she pulled him by his collar into her quarters. For a minute or so, the torture chambers weren't the loudest part of imperial castle..<p>

**Esdese's chamber - Esdese's bed.**

"Tatsumi.. " she looked deep into his big emerald eyes with affection.  
>"I truly was afraid I would lose you..." her most affectionate voice singing in his ears, his body already being held tight to hers.<p>

"Don't you ever run away from me like that again, and don't ever join Night Raid again", a teasing and affectionate voice commanded while stroking his hair with one hand.  
>"You know how lonely I was without you, and now you wanted to die on me" - she pinched his cheek hard while kissing him on the forehead.<br>"Esdese, please...I found out today my friend got butchered by Imperial Guard and Wild Hunt...i need some time to mourn his loss..." said rather tired and depressed Tatsumi.

But for all the hatred he had for the empire and shock at Lubbock's death - a good hug and a loving woman was what he needed the most. Sadly it seems neither Mine nor Night Raid were planning to show up to cheer him up in this grim hour.

"Esdese...I don't wanna do anything perverted...but can you hold me tonight? It's not the best day of my life..."  
>"But it's the best of mine", she replied as she held him close in her arms and fell asleep with him, not letting him leave her embrace for a split second..<p>

Chapter 1 End

Next chapter - Kill the loneliness


	2. Chapter 2 - Kill the loneliness

Chapter II. Kill the loneliness.

Slowly but surely morning was creeping into Esdese's room as Tatsumi regained consciousness...or rather it was being regained for him, with soft and warm kisses on his neck..  
>"hey, HEY!"<br>"Don't struggle Tatsumi...you can't blame a girl for taking a bite when most delicious meal is right in front of her..", Esdese whispered in his ear.  
>"I remind you I have a girlfriend Esdese!"<br>"So shut up and let her enjoy her cute Tatsumi!" - she pinched him on his cheek.  
>"Tha-that's not what I meant!"<br>"Oh, have you forgotten our little deal?" - she replied with an evil grin on her face.  
>"You cut your ties to Night Raid the moment you joined me. So I'm taking a fair guess that includes your <strong>ex<strong>-girlfriend as well."

"..."

It was only now that this part of the deal hit him, but no matter how you look at it, her logic was flawless here. Also if he was to continue his mission, especially the part involving meeting with Night Raid and relaying the news of general Budou it was clear he had to calm her down and not stir any unnecessary suspicion leading to tighter supervision.

"I guess you're right here...well...I can't say I had a bad sleep tonight", he said sporting a small blush.  
>"There you go Tatsumi", him once again ending up pulled into his proper place as her body-pillow.<br>"To be honest we have 1 hour before we need to get up, and prepare for morning Jaeger briefing. But as cute as you are when you sleep, I really need a morning snack right now.." she said with a wide perverted smile turning Tatsumi's face to hers.  
>"Hey easy, easy here! I'm still no over this whole nightmare you know!"<br>"Don't be like that, 'hug-my-Tatsumi' therapy seems to have helped, I can only figure stronger...medication will only bring about even better results." she stated with a big smile, licking her lips.  
>"H..hu..hug-my-what? S-stronger ...medication? Time out! I hate natural medicine!. Only needles and scalpels for me!"<br>"Well, we have those too, she commented blushing...though in a different room.." her smile starting to turn real creepy and strange sparkle in her eyes...  
>"Eeek! C-can't we discuss it like adult people?" he cried.<br>"You're the only one here running from your adulthood" said Esdese climbing on top him, putting her hand on his chest.  
>"You k-know..there's not need to rush, shouldn't we get to know each other better?"<br>"Believe me Tatsumi, my body has no problem recognizing it's...needs." Esdese's smile took on even more perverted albeit less sadistic look, still little comfort to poor Tatsumi..  
>"But my curiosity also needs too be sated...so if you'll answer my question I'll delay your morning 'treatment' for a while"<p>

"Sure! Ask away!"  
>"Spoil sport...<br>"Well then, Tatsumi...what made you change your mind about joining me? As much as I'd like to believe it was power of love, I'm pretty sure something else was involved."  
>"When I was in my cell...I learned much to my surprise that while empire is rotten to the core..not every person in the capitol is."<br>"I see..."  
>"And that I can find allies here to help cleanse this empire from it's corruption, allies that have enough strength to help make that change real."<br>_'__Though I better keep the part about it being mostly Budou and not you to myself'_, he thought.  
>"I see." Esdese's tone became sadder.<br>"And having one person that truly loves me in this nest of vipers is what gives me the strength to give it a try, even if in this hell-hole."  
>"!Tatsumi!"<p>

It was too late, his body clenched tightly in her arms and a soft kiss landing on his lips - there was no talking his way out of this. Esdese made sure her lips kept his from talking.  
>But all in all...he was not lying. Missing Night Raid friends and Mine was one thing, but here in this pit of corruption he had only one person that he was sure didn't want his head on a stick. And at the same time the only woman to give him the emotional support he needed right here, right now.<p>

The morning Jaeger meeting started bit on the cheery side, as both Kurome and Wave greeted Tatsumi with suspicious smiles.  
>"Had a rough morning?" Wave asked not hiding his grin, as Tatsumi sported eyes of a man who just fought the most ferocious danger beast and it was not his win.<br>"You want rough, I can give your rough, fish-face!" Tatsumi yelled forgetting his "near-death experience" just from few minutes ago.  
>"Oh, someone wants double the beating this morning it seems!" yelled Wave happily.<br>"Calm down you two", Esdese brought them to order, her voice being unnaturally gentle and happy.  
>"Yes ma'am."<br>"Yes Esdese."

"Now on to business at hand. We'll be getting three new Jaeger members tomorrow, and I'll have special jobs for you three related to the matter."  
>"Special jobs?"<br>"Yes. Each one of you will have a specific task to prepare for meeting your new team mates.  
>I guess you could say that each one of you will be assigned work to be more compatible with a specific member of the new trio."<p>

"Kurome. you will go out and seek strong danger beasts to fill your collection. Strong revolutionary warriors will do too if you find such. One of the new members is not very good with fighting multiple enemies at once, and your support might be needed there."  
>"Yes general."<p>

"Wave - you will head out to city's southern city guard post and wait there. Second member should arrive there. Much like yourself she's from the edges of empire and will need a reliable guide and protector from any two-bit swindlers trying to pull a fast one on an unknowing person.  
>"Wait general. Did you say "she"?"<br>Kurome's eyes also quickly turned away from her cookies and into Esdese.  
>"Yes, she. I'm sending you because both Kurome and Tatsumi have unique missions, no one else but them can do. Is that a problem?"<br>"N-no, general of course not!"  
>"Can I keep one spot for Wave?" said Kurome lifting her sheathed sword to view and giving Wave a dark look.<br>_'Yikes!'_ thought Wave.  
>"Of course." responded Esdese in most casual manner.<br>"GENERAL!" - Wave's face just took a desperate expression that Tatsumi knew all too well...  
>"Enough of joking around you two, you know your job, get going!" Esdese ordered with clear smirk on her face.<br>"Yes ma'am!"  
>"Yes general."<p>

After they left the room, each heading to their new destination, Tatsumi popped the obvious question:  
>"What about me?"<br>"Your mission...will be...difficult. This is not the place to discuss it, we will talk about it in my chambers".  
>"W-what?! You just want to abuse me don't you?!"<br>"Don't blame me for your irresistible eyes and cute neck", said Esdese with a sparkle in her eye.  
>"However, this time..it's a serious matter and nothing to laugh at. It involves your recently...stopped friend" she said in very serious tone.<br>"Lubbock?! What's this about?!"  
>"As I said, in my chambers" she commanded, picking her cap up walking away from the table pulling Tatsumi by his shirt's collar.<p>

Esdese's chamber, the bed.

"You know there are two chairs and a table right there" - Tatsumi grunted.  
>"So you like finding new uses for furniture" she jokingly retorted.<br>"I'M NOT LIKE THAT" yelled Tatsumi.  
>"That remains to be seen" replied Ice Queen not even trying to hide her evil grin.<p>

"But pleasantries aside, the topic at hand is rather ...grim."  
>"And a an easy one to set me off the edge" Tatsumi continued, not hiding his rage at his friend's fate.<br>"I know he was a dear friend to you, you of all people made that clear to me...all too many times" said Esdese with slightly annoyed voice.  
>"However...he was member of Night Raid and an enemy to the Empire."<br>"Empire I have little love for..." Tatsumi grunted turning his face away.  
>"Personal feelings aside...I'm sure deep down you know what's coming next, so I won't sugarcoat it.."<br>"As a caught and...executed assassin and member of Night Raid, your friend's corpse is scheduled to be on public display in this capitol as a testament to imperial castle's impenetrable defence and a warning to rebels, your former 'friends' included."

Actually Esdese sugar coated her original statement to the extreme.  
>'Sliced corpse of your weak useless Night Raid 'friend' are going on display unless you accept my offer' would be what anyone else would hear.<br>But she already knew that this was one topic best handled with care, unless she wants to watch Tatsumi lose all reason and do something empire won't forgive.

"I see Empire works harder by the day in sinking to the bottom", Tatsumi hissed through his teeth.  
>"However, seeing how you care for him, I have arranged a way to avert that, and send him off with proper burial rather then public humiliation."<br>"...Really?!  
>"Really." - she replied with warmest smile on her face.<br>"Thank you Esdese!" - he leapt hugging her causing her to blush and releasing a very un-general like: "T-tatsumi...".  
>"However..." her tone getting more serious - "..only if you do your part."<br>"Meaning?" - both worry and interest started creeping into his voice.

"Two members of Night Raid have been caught, and that news already leaked to the public.  
>"So the empire must have a Night Raid member on display, lest it be thought they escaped and royal palace can be entered and left by assassins as they see fit."<br>"I don't like where this is going.."  
>"You will attend this display as former member of Night Raid and current Jaeger, showing both empire's mercy and potency of imperial guard.<br>That way you'll ensure your friend's proper burial, with his teigu rather then body on display, at the same cutting your ties to Night Raid."  
><em>'Now you will make your true step towards becoming mine'<em> she thought to herself, both her heart fluttering and predatory instincts calling to her.

"So basically you just want me to betray Night Raid!" - replied Tatsumi angrily.  
>"The caring group of friends who sent you into the lion's den and left you for imprisonment and certain execution"?<br>"It's a risk I accepted when I joined".  
>"One that Jaegers would never ask of you. We don't leave our comrades to die because we're afraid to bail them out." Esdese snarled.<p>

"You are still too naive, Tatsumi, but that's also part of your charm."  
>"However, time for naiveté is nearing it's end. You must pick a side, as neither the empire, nor Night Raid will tolerate existence of person who can't determine where their loyalties lay.<br>"You can't ask me to stand against my friends, Esdese.".  
>"Your 'friends' offered you death! I offer you life and a chance at your goal, rather then being an idealistic corpse for rebel cause!<br>Forget not what made you join me!".

She might not have been able to understand Night Raids camaraderie, nor the reason they were willing to die for. But she's wasn't wrong about the importance of cause that made him accept her offer. Nor the fact that indeed Esdese would move heaven and earth to save him, more so then Night Raid. Be it due to her superior power or devotion to him, he did not know. But he knew it was true.

"Ok. I'll do it. Hope my friends don't come to kill me the next day, I sure would."

At that second he found himself pinned to the bed, completely defenceless, her lips on his.  
>"You know I'll kill anyone trying to harm you before they even think it" she spoke with care in her eyes and voice.<p>

"And now Tatsumi...since we're already in a comfortable position.." Esdese continued pinning him further..  
>"WHO'S COMFORTABLE HERE?!" his scream echoed across the halls...<br>"Now, now, don't tell me you're not enjoying this" - a big predatory grin appearing on her face..  
>"HEEEEEEELPPP!"<br>"Scream all you want Tatsumi! It only makes it sweeter!"

This night the torture chamber felt like oasis of peace and solitude, unlike castle's upper levels kept up by terrified screams of unknown origin...  
>It was clear that general Esdese was performing her duties with enthusiasm...<p>

**Next day, Capitol's southern guard post**

"Today is my lucky break" Wave thought to himself.

He had arrived there the day before with letter from general Esdese giving him top priority treatment among stationed guards.  
>Still 'treatment' isn't a proper word to describe what can be done in something that resembles more a barrack then living quarters were it not for walls of stone. Everything here was simple – blocky wooden chairs and tables, hard bunk beds, plain wooden stairs up to simplistic counter for accepting reports and requests from citizens, made by replacing the window with with wooden shutters and a using window still as tiny workspace when paper work was concerned.<br>For the proudly named imperial guard, they sure weren't living the life as one might expect.

Wave felt almost instant sympathy for people, who much like him were simple soldiers, doing their best to protect the people, without any luxuries in it.

_'No offense to the general and Kurome, but I could enjoy a slight change of pace...not getting picked on for once by all the women in my unit.  
>Seems only Tatsumi can understand my suffering<em>_'_ he thought...  
>Then again, imagining Tatsumi having to spend all that time alone with Esdese..perhaps Wave wasn't the one with shortest end of the stick after all..<p>

"I'm sorry to deny such a cute girl, but this is the capitol guard outpost, not hairdresser" said annoyed voice of a guardsman unfortunate enough to get counter duty today.  
>"How rude! That's exactly why I'm here! A person is supposed to pick me up on behalf of general Esdese!" a bit irritated yet soft female voice fluttered in the air.<br>"! That must be the new member!".."And she's CUTE?!' Wave leaped from his bunk bed realizing what the overheard conversation meant.  
>"Corporal Bribes, I believe she's the girl I was stationed here for!." he yell ed bolting down the stairs.<br>"You sure about this? She certainly doesn't look the part..unless general is planning to open up an opera house."  
>"If I were you I'd bit my tongue. Luckily for you I'm the nicest member of Jaegers" Wave curbed the man back to his place.<br>"Y-yes sir, I'm sorry, please don't tell the general!"  
>"I'm sorry about this, most of soldiers here aren't trained in recognizing talent other then pure brawn" Wave said smiling brightly.<br>"Don't worry, I understand - my father's an officer of the military so I know how it is" she comforted him with a warm smile.  
>"Anyway I'm Wave of the Jaegers - special task force directly under general Esdese, and you are?"<br>"Oh, right! The girl flustered a bit." I'm "Julia Ederson" she extended her hand to now completely red-faced wave.  
>This girl was nothing like any women he saw in the capitol or among Jaegers.<p>

Around 17 years of age she had light pale skin, long dark green hair tied in a braid reaching to her waist and soft, gentle, dark brown eyes. On top of that she wore a pair of big round glasses, long white summer dress with green floral ornaments and modest country shoes made from wood for walking rather then traversing roughest of terrains. She most certainly did not sport the looks of a soldier, let alone a member of an elite unit. Only thing off in this image was a thick and wide, oddly shaped bracelet made from a jet-black metal on her left wrist. With it's untypical structure, consisting mostly of curved, yet smooth fragments fused together so well that one had difficulty seeing it's composition at first glance, it did most definitely did not fit with 'simple and provincial' looks of it's owner. A pair of one inch "horns" made from same metal, procuring from the bracelet towards her hand, also gave an appeal of this being more then just a fashion statement.

"Oh I see my teigu got your attention", she spoke gently.  
>"Not just the teigu..."<br>"WAIT, DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD?!"  
>"You sure did", the girl sneakered covering her face, trying to hide her laughter in vain.<br>"It's not like that, erm ..I mean it is, but I'm not a perv or anything! And I smell like fish only because I'm a navy officer!"  
>"Well, it seems my time with Jaeger's will most certainly be a fun one" she said shaking his hand using rest of her willpower to keep the laughter in.<br>"Well, follow me!" Wave cheerfully commanded and started their walk to Jaeger HQ.  
>"By the way - what type of teigu is that?" He asked pointing at her bracelet.<br>"It's a bow type teigu, that let's it's user strike targets at range. Obviously it does more then that, but I'll reveal more in less public place" she said giving Wave a wink.  
>"Of course." he nodded happily.<br>'Someone up there likes me!' He shouted to himself in his mind, looking up and smiling to the sun.

"And someone down here has a special spot for you in Yatsufusa" Kurome added, as if reading his mind.  
>"WHAT?! KU-KU-KUROME?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"<br>"I caught the danger beasts and warriors I needed. Just need to fill my Wave-slot".  
>"He-hey, but I'm not a danger beast nor a rebel?!"<br>"Your fangs gotten larger recently. And you smell more like fish".  
>"That's not funny Kurome!"<br>"Excuse me, but you two know each other?"  
>"Yes. I'm Kurome of Jaegers. And he's a danger beast for my collection."<br>"Very funny Kurome!" he yelled.  
>Kurome gently smiled and drew Yatsufusa. Wave already knew it's time to start running. And so the trip to Jaeger HQ. was the shortest one recorded in empire's history, matching the speed of a flying dragon.<p>

**Jaeger meeting room**

This was not the best morning for Tatsumi. His eyes were clearly of a person that run into a savage wrath of a danger beast and did not get out unscathed.  
>Only his danger beast, was still very much hungry, despite taking several bites out of him, knew exactly where he was, and he could swear she was on strict "Tatsumi only" diet.<br>None the less it was time to meet the new team members. With eyes of man who just faced death and knew it'd be back for more cuddling he entered the meeting room.

The view was quite an interesting one..and judging from their faces the impression was mutual. Not everyday to you see a young, emerald eyed boy with bags under eyes like floodgates, and strange bite marks on his neck. It's a good thing he didn't have to expose his back, else questions like "how was the torture chamber" would never end...  
>On the other hand he himself also had quite a view to behold.<p>

Sitting left to Esdese was a well build middle aged man with short, spiky hair, short ponytail, short but wide beard around his face and brown skin. His attire was that of military officer, though it wasn't sure he'd be wearing that when under Esdese.  
>But most importantly his eyes showed clearly an energetic personality and experience he had under his belt. And they seemed to gleam at Wave who looked like a man on a death row.<p>

Next to him was a luscious female, with long, straight golden hair reaching to her waist, golden eyes, face of a model and curves matching those of Esdese if not slightly more pronounced. Dressed in white shirt and navy jacket with skirt, wearing high heels and stockings, she sported a serious yet seductive look, an aura of adult woman that wouldn't let anyone mess with her. An aura Esdese seemed to be pleased with.

Lastly on the right side, and right next to his spot, sat a young, gentle looking girl with long dark green hair tied in a braid, large brown eyes looking from behind glasses and expression that could heal all wounds.

"Being late is normally punished in the torture chamber" - Esdese's scolding was his first greeting.  
>"But I know full well of intensive...training you went through this morning" she closed the subject off with a sly grin on her face.<br>"Take a seat, and I will do the introductions"  
>Tatsumi sat down as the last Jaeger member to arrive, looking with faint smile to the new Green haired girl next to him, before focusing on Esdese.<p>

"Today Jaegers have been joined by 3 new members. I will introduce each of you starting from my right so that the new members also learn a bit about the current ones".  
>Firstly Jack Bellows, a seasoned navy marine and Wave's former superior and master. He's a specialist in hand to hand combat, broad sword combat, and obviously aquatic combat. He's here to both thoroughly re-train Wave and boast our power with his unique teigu.<br>"Nice to meet you all, hope we'll work well together. I can assure you Wave will able to swim a sea across without breaks once I'm done with him." - the tall man made his introduction.  
>One didn't even need to imagine said sea - it was already pouring out of Wave's eyes whose expression was stuck between terror and plea for swift death.<p>

"Next is Izabelle Attentäter. She's a specialist in espionage, covert operations and assassinations. Having a teigu that we retrieved from our enemies she also has the ability to change her looks at will. Though according to my files, what you see here is her original look."  
>"Pleased to meet you all. I'm looking forward to achieving great results with you" she said in rather formal manner.<br>Her greeting didn't seem to generate much emotion in the rest of Jaegers save for Kurome who seemed to be bit happy, and Tatsumi clenching his fists at memory of Chelsea.

The small girl in black with katana at her side is Kurome - backbone of Jaegers when it comes to sword fighting and fighting multiple enemies. Her teigu has the ability to make puppets out of bodies of slain enemies and use them at her will, preserving their full combat capabilities, including teigu. She's also the sister of the Night Raid's Akame and made her a personal target for betraying the empire.  
>"..." Kurome munched on her cookies rather unphased raising some brows from the new Jaegers, and bit of bitter look from Tatsumi, for obvious reason.<p>

"The cute brown-haired boy with emerald eyes sitting in front of me is Tatsumi", Esdese said clearly changing her tone to much less official one.  
>"He is a capable fighter wielding Incursio - an armor based teigu made from flesh of legendary danger beast - the Tyrant. His melee prowess and ability to turn invisible are a huge asset in both defense and offense. He is also my lover and a future general of the empire." - she summed up his description in a happy and proud voice.<br>"Any woman who even thinks about laying one finger on my Tatsumi will be killed, or tortured and then killed depending on severity of her crime" - suddenly her tone changed to ice cold and menacing, murderous aura leaving no doubts that she was serious.

"Erm..hello all, it's a pleasure to meet you" he said trying to sound as natural as he could. Though deep down he sure didn't feel natural - he wasn't her lover, he agreed to be a subordinate. On top of that he was former Night Raid. But that was soon to be officially pardoned, so there was no point delving on that issue.  
>The looks he felt on himself were colored like the rainbow - from bit envious look from Wave's master, cold and calculating look from Izabelle, neutral stare from Kurome, warm look from the green haired girl, compassionate look from Wave, up to loving look from Esdese herself. Sadly the last one made his neck and back strangely hurt again.<p>

"On his right you will see Julia Ederson - our long range combatant. Previously Night Raid had an edge over us with their long range sniper Mine. I've requested for Julia to even the odds"  
>'Mine...' Tatsumi's heart froze for a second, not escaping Esdese's sight.<br>_'Your reaction to her name was far stronger then Akame's...so she's the one, Tatsumi?' _

"Thank you very much, I'll do my best for my new unit and friends" she said with warm natural smile.  
>Wave, his master, and Esdese were pleased, Kurome and Izabelle coldly neutral, while Tatsumi had a face showing pure disgust. She was here to kill Mine, his Mine...<p>

"Lastly Wave, our cook and melee combat specialist, very similar to Tatsumi, though with much more experience in the sea then on the land, unlike Tatsumi.  
>His teigu is Grand Chariot, a teigu based off Tatsumi's incursio providing similar abilities and combat role as Tatsumi's."<br>"I can already tell he's a very kind person" commented Julia giving a warm smile.  
>"And a very good addition to my collection" added Kurome giving off a dark, chilling smile.<br>"I see you're already getting popular with the ladies, way to go Wave!" his master giving him thumbs up.

Tatsumi's eyes were the only ones showing genuine compassion which Wave needed in bulks at this moment.  
>"That will be all for today, you can return to your quarters. Tomorrow morning I will have assignments for all of you, so rest well" Esdese concluded.<p>

**Esdese's room**

"So how do you like your new teammates?" Esdese asked with cute voice while standing in front of her window, hugging Tatsumi from behind in her favorite night blouse.  
>"Well..Wave's master seems like a great guy..."<p>

"Hm..I can't deny that...but what about the girls...don't they make your heart race, Tatsumi?" she asked in flirty manner.  
>While the obvious death trap in the form of this question would make him think 10 times before answering, this time he didn't need any precautions.<p>

"The blonde is stiff like a tree, and the green one's smile I'd like to widen with my Incursio.." he replied angrily, true to his feelings.  
>"Would that latter have anything to do with your girlfriend?" she said merrily, though he felt her predatory instincts and murderous aura raising.<p>

"I don't like anyone who's after my comrades. I'd prefer to settle this without killing anyone."  
>"Naive words for someone who sooner or later will face assassins, whom they call friends" she replied coldly.<br>"Remember Tatsumi you are mine now. And a member of Jaegers. Like or hate them, they are your new comrades in arms, and I will not tolerate any defection when faced with Night Raid, even if it's you."  
>"...I know...I just don't want to see my friend die or kill them myself."<p>

"Best two options for you in that case are either getting them to surrender before I'll end it, or stay away from any Night Raid operation Jaegers will have. Both in deeds and knowledge of such."  
>"Of course I'm not about to let you just run off and have a merry meeting with Night Raid, so as for the former option, you'll have to be really creative" she said with a smirk, looking forward to the challenge of him trying to get past her control.<p>

"Speaking of creativity...i wonder how you'll talk your way out of this one!"  
>She yelled as she flipped him over her head tossing him onto the bed, and quickly landing on him, tearing off his shirt and vest. A loud shriek was heard across the halls, but it soon stopped.<br>'Not fair Esdese' he thought as she once again covered his lips with hers stopping any attempts at calling for help. Not that any would dare approach.

"You know Tatsumi, with all those cute screams you make, my inner sadist just can't stay put" - a wry smile and huge blush crept upon her face.  
>It was clear to him now, that either he'll take control now, or he'll get full body inspection he never asked for.<br>Suddenly he grabbed her neck, pulled it to himself and started kissing it savagely.  
>The tactic was fruitful, both the vulnerability of the spot and Tatsumi taking initiative were a bliss to Esdese who decided to temporarily let him take charge. A huge blush on her face and a slow "Taa-tsu-miii..." let him know the plan was working. Quickly he turned them over, putting himself on top, then broke off saying: "I know something special for this occasion, but I gotta get it from the dining room".<p>

"Better not keep me waiting too long or I'll come and find you myself" she replied, with a huge smile on her face.  
>"Don't worry, you won't have to wait long" he replied putting his clothes on and storming through the door.<p>

Quickly he darted down the stairs and behind them, where he kept his incursio stashed just in case. He knew that if he ever was to make a break for it, he could not let Esdese be too near it, else risking having to leave it behind. He quickly summoned the armor, turned invisible and trashed few nearby cabinets and a table to lure Esdese out of her chamber. He didn't have to wait long, she run down quickly feeing something is off, perhaps even fearing Night Raid attack.

But that was all he needed to run across the lower floor's hall, take the stairs up on opposite side of theirs, and stealthily sneak back into her chamber and under her bed, releasing incursio due to armor being too bulky to fit in.  
>'You maybe good at tracking, but the darkest place is under the lantern' he thought to himself. 'Also I kept my promise - I did return quickly, you just won't know about it'.<p>

After interrogating the servants about the unknown attacker Esdese searched the whole floor over, yet feeling no murderous intent to which she was especially attuned to, nor hearing about any serious damage resulting from the event she returned to her chambers to resume her precious fun with Tatsumi. But he was nowhere to be found.

_'Sneaky'_, she thought, 'But you forgot I love your smell and I can sense it's still here. You're here Tatsumi, you little sneak, she giggled to herself.  
>Soon Tatsumi was caught and pulled from under the bed, only to return to original position.<br>"How dare you worry me like that, making me think you left me" she cried in theatrical tone.  
>"Now I'll have to punish you for breaking my maiden heart" her sadistic tone rang in his ear right before she hugged him, pulling him under the sheets and cooed him to sleep, not without a kiss on a shoulder or delicate bite on his neck...<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 - Kill the Hope

And now a word from our sponsor. Oh wait, I ain't got none!  
>Well here we are with chapter 3, focused on empire's plans regarding Jaegers and Tatsumi, plus Night Raid making it's first appearance in my story.<p>

Chapter III. Kill the Hope

Tatsumi and Lubbock never returned from their scouting mission in the capitol. As much as all Night Raid members hoped it wasn't true, each passing day made it clear something went wrong.

"Boss they're gone for 5 days now, even Lubbock surrounded by every woman in empire would not dally around so long, not to mention Tatsumi" Leone scoffed.  
>"I'm worried." - added Akame.<br>"That jerk has me worried for 5 days! He better be heavily injured else I'll see to it myself!" - Mine blew her top, not doing a good job holding back her tears.  
>"About that...".<br>"An hour ago I received a message from our spies in capitol, regarding Lubbock and Tatsumi.  
>...It seems they were captured..and executed. There is to be a public display of one of their corpses, and another's teigu as proof of his capture."<p>

"No way! I'm not believing it till i see it! Mine yelled."  
>"We must investigate this." Akame concurred.<br>"Boss I'm going." Leone added.

Najenda took a deep inhale of her cigar and sighed heavily, closing her eye, pondering the best possible course of action.  
>"Yes, it's long past any excusable delay. This tip might quite possibly be true."<br>Leone and Mine, go to capitol and find out what happened to them."

"Yes ma'am!" they both shouted eagerly.

"Not so fast you two. Safety first. Both of you are known by the empire now, so you Mine stay outside of capitol and scope the situation with pumpkin from a safe distance. Watch out for Leone and report back here if things go south.

"Why me? I want to go in there, grab those two delinquents by their ears and tear them off!" She cried.  
>"You know full well why. I don't see pumpkin helping you carry two people at once, nor letting you run faster if spotted.<br>"Yes ma'aaaam." she acknowledged angrily.

"Leone I need you to look under every rock in capitol for information about them. Rescue them if possible, and if not, at least bring us some news.  
>"On it boss."<p>

Both of them run out of Night Raid's hideout as fast as possible, quickly switching to Leone carrying Mine as the pink haired sniper had little means of movement above normal human levels unlike her golden haired partner.

"Boss why didn't you send me." Akame asked with regret.

"Someone needs to defend the base, and you're not very good at rescue missions - Leone can take a few hits protecting our guys if they're unable to fight, and easily carry them both out. Your skills are focused on assassination, not protection" she calmly responded.  
>"...I see." She replied her big red eyes full of sorrow and worry.<p>

'Regardless...i don't have much life left...and if we indeed lost them...Night raid cannot continue as 3 man operation. It's time we got some back-up from revolutionary army. '  
>"I'm going to my office, to write a letter asking for reinforcements. With Esdese breathing on our necks we can't afford to be thinned out".<p>

"I'll go check the compound and train."  
>"Ok Akame, do that. Dismissed".<p>

**That evening, top of cliff 2 miles south of capitol **

'I've been on this stupid stakeout for 5 hours now, just watching her go in and out of dark alleys and some birds taking a dump on main street'.  
>Hurry up you damn melon-boobed furball!' Mine shouted in her mind, cursing her sniping spot on top of a small cliff, roughly 2 miles from south gate hidden in bushes. It provided all a sniper like her could ask for given the situation, asides one crucial thing - answers.<p>

Leone was scouring the city for information, carefully avoiding patrols, eavesdropping any gossip in dark alleys and asking allied rebel spies. Though 'confirming' would be more like it.  
>It didn't take long for her to hear that "Two Night Raid assassins were captured and in 2 days time at noon a corpse of one and teigu of the other will be on display at central square as a warning to any and all rebels."<p>

What of the other one's body, has only one died, and which one lived, has anyone seen proof with their own eyes - that's the things she wanted confirmed. But none knew, and imperial palace was far too dangerous to try to sneak into with Wild Hunt, Jaegers, imperial guard, Budou and Esdese all stationed in the same building. Best she could do for now was sneak around prison walls and torture chambers hoping to grasp a familiar scream or shout from a fellow Night Raider, but not such sound ever came. After 5 hours she withdrew seeing as it was getting dark - most of people going home opposite to intensifying number of imperial soldiers running patrols.

"Finally you boobed feline! So where's Tatsumi and Lubbock?!" Mine shouted nearly blowing her cover in the woods, despite significant distance from capitol's gates.  
>"Shut up! You want us caught?! Leone growled.<br>"But back to the guys - I didn't find any proof or anything concrete - but word on the street is very clear - they got captured, and empire is to display one corpse the day after tomorrow. Imperials made sure even stray dogs know the place and time.  
>"...Tatsumiiiii..." Mine broke into tears, Leone hugging her.<br>"We've yet to know...but if it's true, I will snap the neck of whoever is responsible...after I break every bone in their body" Leone growled."

**2 Days Later**

Night Raid HQ Meeting room, 5am:

"You know your job Leone - sneak into capitol, watch the so called "proof of Night Raid's failure" and using Lionelle confirm with your heightened senses whether the body presented is real of fake, and to whom it belongs, should that not be obvious at first glance.  
>Do not forget this is recon mission. Don't let your emotions get the best of you, and don't try anything foolhardy there."<p>

"I know boss...I'll try" Leone clenched her fists and nodded reluctantly.  
>"I'm coming too" Akame said coming down from her room."<br>"You're not needed on this mission, especially with your face on every wanted poster there." Najenda cut this conversations short.  
>"...I know..but..".<br>"No buts, this isn't some hero story. Stupid actions get you killed. You and Mine stay here and wait for Leone's report, that's an order." - her iron fist clamped with a loud thud, leaving no doubts as to her seriousness.  
>"Yes." she replied her eyes getting more depressed by the second.<br>"And you can forget trying to sneak out the window, Mine - unless you prefer to start your morning with a metal fist in your gut!" Najenda yelled, hearing a window close soon after..

**Jaeger HQ 7am Jaeger dining hall**

"Today is the big day, I assume none of you has memory issues, but just in case, we'll go over the plan once more.  
>Right Kurome, Wave, Tatsumi?" Esdese's menacing voice keept both Wave and his partner on their toes, while sudden shift to sweet and friendly one making Tatsumi even more terrified.<p>

"At 11:50, we move out in full force and official Jaeger uniforms to central square, with general carrying the fallen Night Raid's Teigu." Kurome begin the recap of their plan.

"Upon arriving she creates an ice cross and places it in the middle of it for all bystanders to see." - Tatsumi continued, not most pleased about that part, but it was what he bargained for.

"Then the general will give a speech about punishment for rebellion, and mercy shown to those who regret their actions" - Wave continued.

"That's when Tatsumi will step forward and be presented as the one whose life empire has spared" - Esdese picked up with satisfied voice.

"All the while we'll be keeping an eye out for rebels and Night Raid, but not intercepting them, unless they attack themselves or move about too overtly" - added Julia.

"Correct. Our goal is for them to see it and report it, not get slaughtered in public, putting the whole plan of showing empire's good side to ruin." - Jack affirmed her words.

"After around 30 minutes or so we will return to our HQ and officially begin work as the new Jaegers, with special eye out for Tatsumi, as assassination attempts from rebels are sure to follow" - Esdese concluded.

The thought of giving public speeches about mercy made her cringe, but it was a small price to pay for what was awaiting her in return.  
>The idea of saving Tatsumi struck home with Prime Minister. A young, innocent looking member of Night Raid shown mercy was the perfect start of campaign to increase public support for the empire, and greatly weaken the revolutionary army which fed upon it's image of absolute evil.<br>With empire showing a human face, the number of people joining the revolution would decrease, and as long as Tatsumi was alive, number of possible defectors to imperial side would increase, as he was living proof of both safety and forgiveness that awaited on other side. If they forgave Night Raid member they'd forgive anyone.  
>And little serves stemming a revolution better then mass defections, providing both manpower and inside information on enemy movement to the empire, with revolution getting short end of the stick in form of crushing defeats, distrust among it's ranks and thinning number of soldiers willing to put their necks on the line.<p>

All that would go to pot however, should Tatsumi be assassinated. Failing to protect him in it's own capitol, empire's might would be ridiculed, all trust in safety and future it provided lost.  
>No rebel would dare defect, Tatsumi's corpse serving as a grim reminder of what happens to traitors.<p>

And the best way to avoid such scenario and keep an eye on him as well, was to put him under protection of empire's strongest, much to her delight.  
>Considering all above, and Tatsumi joining Jaegers willingly, it was clear Night Raid would move in for the kill. He knew too much, and his very presence would be a threat to the revolution. That's when Esdese would strike, tearing them asunder, all the while while saving disillusioned Tatsumi from his 'friends'. That day would mark the true beginning of their relationship.<p>

As much as she hated admitting it, the fat bastard planned it well, and in the end they would both get exactly what they wanted.

**Imperial Palace Gate 11:50**

It was a warm and sunny day, the trees and flowers along the path from imperial castle down to central square were especially inviting today.

"Good we're all gathered. Let's proceed." Esdese begun their mission.

The Jaegers started walking one next to another all dressed in official attire to show their open helmet approach in dealing with rebels and Night Raid.  
>Esdese was in the middle, with Tatsumi on her right and Izabelle on her left. Next to Izabelle was Jack, last person on left being Kurome. Tatsumi's side was protected by Julia and lastly Wave.<br>In this formation they marched down from imperial gates to central square arriving at 12:00 as designated, to a large crowd of imperial subjects, and doubtlessly rebel spies gathered for the "Display of Night Raid corpse".

Esdese stepped forward, creating ice cross to display Lubbock's Teigu, and begun her speech, getting straight to the part about punishment for traitors. Her murderous aura and detailed descriptions of torture didn't leave much to the imagination of any future enemy of the empire. After 10 minutes of putting roughly 20.000 people into a state of sheer terror she moved on to displaying empire's benevolent side and Tatsumi.

"But as you will see, the Empire does make a clear distinction between traitors to torture and kill, and it's own citizens it wishes to protect.  
>For those who see their folly and turn from their rebellious ways awaits forgiveness, as this young man can attest to."<p>

At that moment Esdese pointed at Tatsumi who stepped forward.

"Tatsumi here has been poisoned by Night Raids propaganda, send to spy on our empire and left for capture and death by his so - called 'comrades'".  
>But what they did not plan on, was for the empire to show mercy and offer forgiveness to the one that would realize the error of his ways, and swear their allegiance to the emperor.<br>For doing so, this young man has been cleared of his charges and accepted by me as a member of my special task force - "the Jaegers", whose duty is to protect the citizens of empire from rebellion's assassins such as Night Raid and other criminal elements in these walls that regular police forces cannot handle on their own.

"Unlike the cowards and weaklings that the Night Raid are, we do not lurk in the dark, hiding under a rock, waiting for a cheap kill. We stand here before you with faces shown and our names known, so you can tell the ones protecting you, from the ones who want to rob you of your dreams, your place in the empire and your lives."

With this, the empire's strongest introduced each member of Jaegers by their name, letting them tell a bit about themselves to the public, naturally keeping information about their teigu and skills concealed.

"Empire offers peace and forgiveness to those that leave rebellion's folly, rebels offer nothing but lies and slow painful death, remember that!" Esdese finished her speech, claiming Lubbock's teigu from the cross and returning with Jaegers to imperial castle.

Today a major blow to revolution's morale has been dealt.

**Jaeger meeting room,13:00 **

"I must admit that went very well" said Esdese with satisfied tone.  
>"The terrorizing part most certainly did" - Wave grumbled.<br>"The more frightened the weaklings, the smaller chance of them doing something stupid, landing in my torture chamber. And the strong will steel their resolve, becoming stronger, giving me at least some amount of entertainment before they die" she commented sending down shivers across the whole room.  
>"So, Julia, I sensed at least one source of powerful murderous intent in the crowd, how about you?"<br>"Around 30 worth mentioning general, but as you pointed out, only one truly powerful. Rest were rather strong wishes you died, but none of them planning to make good on it with their own hands".  
>"Good. Then I believe the rebels and especially Night Raid got our little message."<br>"So what are our further plans, general?"

"As Jaegers we are tasked with three main missions Izabelle:

I. Uproot any rebellion activity in capitol. The rebels are already moving through cities in the south with red carpet treatment as our spies inform us. This shall not stand on my watch.

II. Trace and deal with corruption in capitol. Gathering information will be job of all Jaegers save myself, while checking out the reports will be Tatsumi's group job.  
><em>'And the more corruption we take out, the less reason for people to glorify Night Raid and turn to rebels rather then to Jaegers'.<br>'__Prime __Minister already gave us the green light to cut __a __few heads off in name of improving empire's image'. _- she recalled conversation with her superior about Tatsumi's wish at that time.

III. And obviously there's the matter of Night Raid and their little "house calls". It's our first and foremost job to put them out of commission for good. Seeing our last clash with them, it won't be a long struggle, especially with our recent reinforcements."

"As for rebel activity in capitol and corruption investigations we're setting up Jaeger outposts as we speak in various districts of capitol. They will serve the purpose of gathering reports from citizens about both of these cases, bypassing imperial guard that has lost people's trust over the course of recent years. They will also spread the news of our achievements and explain our role to people in further detail. A small dispatch of my own soldiers will run these to maintain the image of being separate entity from the imperial guard.

Currently however, it'll be still few days before they arrange everything and begin their operations. Keep in mind the possibility of Night Raid attack on any of us. As we're striking major blow to revolutionary army's morale, that threat is always present and ever-growing, until we deal with all of them. I can only hope they'll target me - I'd hate to miss all the fun, but be on alert, as any Jaeger member is a target, especially Tatsumi.  
>Therefore I'm ordering all of you, save Izabelle to always move around in pairs or more. You train together, you eat together, you sleep together."<p>

"Wha-what? SLEEP together?!" Wave asked in trembling voice.  
>"Order is an order." Kurome replied with thin smile on her face, Wave's face getting beet red.<br>"Be a man about it Wave, Tatsumi is." - Esdese shortly commented in military tone, only the last part sounding like another person spoke it.

She was about to add that she meant sleeping in one room, not one bed, as each Jaeger would have their own, but then she recalled that this piece of information is one that Tatsumi needs not to know.  
><em>'They'll find out on their own'<em> she smiled to herself watching Wave struggle like a worm on a hook.

"As for pair-ups I've decided on following:" Esdese continued.  
>"Julia + Jack - our sniper will need strong melee combatant for protection."<br>"Wave + Kurome - you two are experienced fighting together and trust each other, an important asset when faced with danger."  
>Tatsumi + myself - right now he's #1 target for any assassins of the rebellion. He needs the best and constant protection that only I can provide"<br>_'I won't let any other woman have you everyday, Tatsumi'_ she whispered in her mind giving him an attentive look, barely stopping herself from blushing in front of everyone.

"Unless assigned otherwise by me or forced by situation at hand you will perform your duties with assigned partner.  
>Should for one reason or another they be unable to accompany you, I trust your own judgment in finding a replacement or forming a suitable group for the task at hand."<br>Any questions?

"I want another parther! bursted Tatsumi. My current one is trying to hug me to death! At least assassins offer a quick and painless end!" Tatsumi yelled his lungs off in accusing manner.  
>"Disobedient subordinates wind up tortured." - she replied with a sadistic smile on her face, Tatsumi immediately covering his heck and pressing back against his chair.<p>

"Now for the rest of the day you are dismissed - spend it getting to know the layout of imperial castle if you haven't. Same goes for topography of the capitol for those who are not familiar with it.  
>Remember to always stay close to your partner"<br>"I will!" - she added in atypically cute voice appearing behind Tatsumi trapping him in a hug from behind, followed by his quiet yelp and tears of a tortured animal only Wave understood...

**Esdese's room, evening**

"What are you doing here?!"  
>"Obviously protecting you from any assassins!"<br>"You're enjoying this far more then you should!"  
>"Only a weak man can't bear a little discomfort for a greater cause!"<br>"I'll take my chances with any assassins hiding in the shower head!"  
>"Don't be such a baby and let me shower with you, it's for your own good!"<br>"Wearing Incursio around you is for my own good!"  
>"Don't pretend you don't want to..."<br>"OUT!"

"You're no fun. But the moment I feel something suspicious I will storm in there, like it or not!"  
>"INCURSIOOOOO!"<br>"Fine, be that way!"

**10 minutes later**

"Tatsumi, you've been horrible to me all day long." Esdese complained in a depressed voice.  
>"You won't take my hand in public"- her voice trembling<br>"Who the hell holds hands on a public execution?!..or something of the caliber.." he yelled  
>"You worry me to death by not letting me protect you from assassination" she continued in accusing voice<br>"I can handle any toilet bowl assassinations myself!" he yelled even louder.  
>"And all this time I couldn't kiss you properly because of the constant presence of others.."<br>"How the hell is that MY fault?!"  
>"Now ... resist at your own peril, Tatsumi!"<p>

Esdese finished her little prosecutory speech by pulling him into bed and putting him in his proper 'my-cute-Tatsumi-body-pillow' position.  
>"But as much as I love teasing you...I was serious about the assassin threat" she whispered as he was drifting off into sleep, grunting some words that mattered little, contrary to his body relaxing in her arms.<p>

**That same evening, Night Raid HQ, dining room**

"I see someone decided to rearrange our interior" Najenda spoke seeing few new holes in the wall and some of the furniture smashed to splinters.  
>"I'm sorry general", Leone growled,<br>"But letting it out here was the only way I could obey your order and not tear that bitch Esdese to shreds right where she stood, outmatched or not!  
>"I take it then, that the news you bring is not going to make my day."<br>"Well...out with with Leone..." Mine's voice sobbed silently, clearly afraid of hearing what was coming, but still wanting to end the uncertainty.  
>"I too want to know" Akame added.<br>"Guess I no longer need to call you two down here" Najenda sighed.  
>"Ok, take your sits...or what's left of them, and let's hear it Leone. Nice and slow, you can smash things after" Najenda commanded.<p>

"..As per our information, today indeed was the display of proof Lubbock and Tatsumi got caught by the imperials.  
>The ones performing the little 'show' where Esdese and her Jaegers, now buffed up with 4 new members...Tatsumi included."<br>"Wait,you're saying Tatsumi is alive but with them?" - Najenda demanded confirmation.  
>"Yes, I'm very much certain. As you instructed I remained hidden and did activate Lionelle as I myself had trouble believing my eyes. But it was no mistake. His smell, voice, looks and body language all matched. That was the real Tatsumi."<br>"That blockhead!" Mine shouted.  
>"But...I'm glad he's alive" Akame added, Najenda nodding.<br>"We had this situation before, it's not the first time Esdese forced him to join her".  
>"That might not be the case this time General" Leone continued.<br>"Ok, carry on, we did interrupt your report".

"The first part of her speech was demonstrating Lubbock's teigu and giving a speech on what happens to enemies of the empire. You can imagine she didn't leave out any details.  
>Though his body was not shown, she said he's been executed during an escape attempt, and I didn't sense any lies there. If he did manage to escape..well he'd be here already.<br>I'm sorry boss, but Lubbock has most likely been killed already..."

"We all face this risk...but when the time comes I will personally avenge his death" her iron fist clenched with clear rage in her eye.  
>"We all will" Akame added.<br>"You got that right", Mine confirmed  
>"Hell yeah!" Leone wrapped up the "all for one" declaration.<br>"But for now, back to your report, Leone"  
>"Yes, boss.<br>After 10 minutes of .. being herself, Esdese started playing the 'good imperial general', talking how empire is forgiving to those who turn away from rebellion and then publicly introduced Tatsumi as former Night Raid. She announced he has sworn his allegiance to the emperor, having his crimes against the empire pardoned and now a member of Jaegers of his own free will.

Of course I don't believe that bullshit, but I could see Tatsumi's face looked displeased, not terrorized. It might be there's some truth to what she said, which makes me want to rip her head off even more."

"From what we know from the last time he was in Jaegers, Esdese does deeply care for him, in her own twisted way. He's one person she would not torture or use force against. Regardless of my feelings about her, it's also true she has a great following among her soldiers. It would not be impossible for her to gain Tatsumi's support of his own free will, given enough time and favorable conditions." - Najenda assessed the possibility.

"That's bullshit!" Mine screamed. "He'd never sell us out! This is Tatsumi, not some two bit imperial scum who'd sell his mother for a dime!"

"The fact that we're here talking and not in Esdese's torture chamber, given our weakened state, attests to what you just said Mine.  
>Tatsumi did not sell us out. However, the longer he stays with her, the greater the risk he might break eventually. Also now, with his identity revealed and 'crimes' officially pardoned, he has much less reasons to run away. Being on Esdese's side means he's under protection of empire's strongest, and he doesn't need to hide like a hunted animal any more. Staying with her is the most logical thing to do in his situation."<p>

"Boss since when is Tatsumi logical in anything" Leone countered with a wide grin on her face.  
>"He wouldn't open a door using the knob unless I told him to!" Mine proudly seconded.<br>"That's just our Tatsumi" Akame sighed with a smile.  
>"Ok then, I guess our course of action is decided then" Najenda smiled.<br>"We will soon begin our operation to bail him out, but I should inform you, that while you two were away scouting in capitol two days ago, I called in for reinforcements. Four of us is just not enough against Jaegers and Wild Hunt. So we will begin our operation when they arrive, till then we keep a low profile and mostly focus on training and observing the enemy."

"Yes Boss!" - 3 voiced happily responded.

"Also while we're here, let's hear about those new Jaeger members, we'll need all the info we can use here, Leone"  
>The rest of the night was spend discussing Jaegers and making plans for training in the next few days. All that remained was to wait for the new Night Raid members to arrive...<p>

Chapter End.

Next chapter –"A friend to trust"


	4. Chapter 4 - A friend to trust

Chapter 4 – "A friend to trust"

**Esdese's chamber 6:30**

'Tatsumi...'  
>'Saying my name is enough! I don't need your hands running around my chest to wake up!'<br>'I see, so I probably shouldn't do this either', big smile run across Esdese's face  
>'wh...what do you want from my ear?" he squirmed silently<br>'I caaan't heeear youuuu Taaa-tsuuuu-miiiiiii.."  
>"h...elp." his voice died quickly as Esdese's predatory instincts grew.<p>

Soon the the morning sun falling through the windows of their room revealed a common scene in the natural struggle for survival - that of a predator sinking her teeth in prey's neck...

**6:30. **

"You're a monster Esdese", Tatsumi yelped "It's your fault you bring out the animal in me, Tatsumi"  
>"Well I should then avert tempting you" he said as he bolted out of the bed.<br>Only to be swiftly pulled back in with unexpected force by a hand he never saw coming.  
>"You're not getting away...Tatsumi.."<br>"But...I will give you fair chance today.." her huge smile not making him feel any safer.  
>"What do you mean?" his scared voice full of fear and suspicion only made her voice get cuter and predatory smile wider.<p>

"Now that we're done with all the official fuss...it's high time I kept my promise and trained you."  
>Tatsumi's eyes widened at imminent danger that made all of Night Raid's wrath seem like a few bruises at best.<br>"You can't expect me to be around you all the time, try hard as I might.  
>Any assassin worth their salt will take that opportunity to strike at you and fellow Jaegers. I must train you to ensure my beloved is not so weak as to fall to some two bit lowlife killer that any decent member of Jaegers should swat like a fly."<p>

Tatsumi didn't like where this was going. In fact at this very moment jumping out the window and committing suicide seemed like the safe way out.  
>"For starters we'll begin with danger detection and reacting to surprise attacks."<br>'Danger detection? Does it get any more dangerous then right now?!' he screamed in his thoughts as her face showed unhealthy excitement at the perspective of his..training'  
>"Don't worry Tatsumi, the training is very simple" she said affectionately smiling.<br>"Each time today I manage to get you in sure-kill situation is another 5 minutes you'll spend tied up in my chamber tonight, free for me to ..punish your disappointing performance in any way I see fit." explained general, failing to hide her sadistic grin and excitement in her voice.  
>Surge of pleasure in her voice when uttering the part about punishment didn't exactly help calm Tatsumi's nerves either.<p>

**Jaeger Dining Hall 7:00**

"Hi Tatsu...mi? Wave cut short when looking at...something... entering the hall, that resembled Tatsumi...more or less..  
>Eyes wide like they were about to pop up of their sockets, ears that seem to have twitched with unheard proficiency, nervous, erratic head movement...Wave wasn't sure what that thing was, despite looking like Tatsumi.<br>"Shhh..I'm struggling for my life here!"  
>No sooner then finishing his sentence a flash of white and blue appeared behind him reaching to grab his neck. Tatsumi instinctively dropped down to crouch, leaped forward like a wild animal avoiding the surely fatal grab in split second.<p>

"Tsh." Esdese snarled. "Guess this one time you got lucky."  
>Walking to her chair she left Tatsumi alone...for a while at least.<p>

"I see you keep yourselves busy.." Wave send Tatsumi a wide grin.  
>"Wanna trade places?!" Enraged Tatsumi nearly yelled his lungs out.<br>"My, my..." Julia sneakered..."This certainly is not fair... "  
>"Lady Esdese do you require my assistance in catching this extremely nimble specimen?" - Izabelle almost sounded like she was having fun.<br>"That will not be required today Izabelle. I'm just teaching Tatsumi how to not get himself killed".  
>"Yes, we can see that" Julia added. "It looks quite...lethal", she responded in tone that tried to sound official..but was failing at it.<br>"Evasion and observation training. Good idea." Kurome summarized, looking at Wave in a most disturbing way.  
>"Can't let Tatsumi leave you behind, Wave!" Jack cheerfully slammed his fists together giving his student a lively look!<br>"Whaaaa...Wave cried...what did I do to deserve this?!"

"Now now, enough you guys." Esdese closed the topic, with slight laughter in her voice.  
>"Since the whole issue with Tatsumi's pardon and doing our bit for Empire's public relations is done, it's time we got down to business." her voice stiffened.<br>"You know our 3 main goals now, and I believe you got accustomed to each other a bit.  
>"It's time we discussed our setup and priorities regarding said 3 tasks."<br>"Yes ma'am" most of Jaegers replied in unison.

"First off are our official Jaeger patrols in capitol. Night Raid is laying low, and we're not likely to get any news of rebels or corruption by sitting still in this room. Our Jaeger outposts are now opened and it's your job to go out on patrol, showing public your presence, while checking on our outposts and fetching reports from them to our HQ. Part of those reports will be corruption investigations for Tatsumi's cell. I will handpick the assignments, but Tatsumi will be the one conducting investigations, with Izabelle and Julia as assistants."

"Wait, don't I get to pick my own assistants?" Tatsumi protested. The thought of the girl tasked with "dealing" with Mine at his side was turning his stomach upside down.  
>"Much as I know you'd love to have me in your cell, I have other duties and rank to uphold as a general of the empire. Your assistants have been chosen for their specific talents, needed for this job. This is non-negotiable." she cut him off.<br>_'Way to try making it look like it's me that wants to be around you 24/7'_ he thought.

"None of us can match Izabelle's ability to gather information undetected inside suspect's home or enemy base. That will make her an excellent investigator for your team. Julia on the other hand possess extremely acute senses, surpassing even my own - she'll be able to detect any threat that you would never notice on time. Also she's our long range sniper - neither you or Izabelle are good when faced with ranged teigu user. Remember Night Raid doesn't care about schedules, they may strike at any time. She's essential for your team's balance, Tatsumi."  
>"Yes, ma'am", he responded coldly.<br>_'Sorry Tatsumi, but I can't have you dying on me the moment I turn my back, and those two will keep you safe'. _

"Wave and Kurome. Today you will be charged with patrolling capitol's streets and gathering information from our Jaeger outposts."  
>"Understood".<p>

"Myself and Jack Bellows have a meeting with Budou regarding security procedures in imperial castle after recent nearly successful breakout of a prisoner. "  
>Tatsumi knew full well who "the prisoner" was, but at the moment something more important was on this mind.<br>_'Budou! The man I must meet!'_ Tatsumi's undivided attention was obtained with that single word.  
>"Excuse me Esdese, but I heard a bit about the great general Budou, I would very much like to meet him!" Tatsumi volunteered.<br>"Hm? That's a surprise coming from your lips, Tatsumi."  
>"But regardless of what you want from him, at this very moment you'd just kill any chances of getting it.<br>Budou is an extremely principial man, who would not open up to former member of Night Raid as easily. I can assure you if there's one person in this palace who will not trust you, it'll be him. Also while both generals, we have extremely different views, and rarely agree on anything. My sympathy for you will not aid in anyway when approaching this man."  
>That's not the news Tatsumi wanted to hear.<br>"I see..." he grunted. Look like this was going to be a long, hard pull.  
>"Budou is extremely stubborn..but not blind. If you prove your loyalty, and maybe even win emperor's favor in doing so, he might open up to you. But until then I strongly advice you steer clear of his way."<p>

"Returning to main topic of discussion, your investigation cell we begin it's operations tomorrow - first we need Wave and Kurome gathering reports from out outposts. Today you're to train with Julia and Izabelle at northern outskirts of capitol. Gaining some combat experience with each other is crucial for your effectiveness as a team. I would hate to see Night Raid get some easy kills because you trip up over each other's feet."  
>"Needless to say torture chamber awaits deserters and those who let them desert." - 'certain' incident in the past has not been forgotten by empire's strongest.<br>Wave's painful expression left no doubt she wasn't the only one with good memory.

With those words Esdese got up and left the morning Jaeger meeting.  
>"Well that was ...encouraging" Julia commented giving a warm albeit bit frightened smile to Tatsumi.<br>"Let's move" - Izabelle's result oriented nature once again shined through her.  
>As he headed for the exit of the hall, Tatsumi suddenly felt his head getting jerked backwards, only to evade tip of a sword piercing space that would be next to his his neck had he continued walking.<br>"Tsh. That's cheating Tatsumi!" Esdese snarled as Julia yanked him back on time to avoid the sure-kill situation.  
>"Assassins don't play fair" he retorted with wide smile on his face.<br>_'That smile...'_ Esdese blushed in an instant.  
>"It's good to see you're starting to rely on fellow Jaegers more" she said tipping her hat down to cover her face, barely keeping her voice official. "Dismissed."<p>

"Thanks, you really saved me there", he instinctively expressed his gratitude to Julia.  
>"No problem" - her big warm smile only made his defenses drop further.<p>

_'Snap out of it! Mine's potential killer, right next to you, you unloyal sack of shit!'_ his inner voice screamed.  
>But no matter how much his reason wanted it, it was getting harder and harder for his heart to hate her .. both Julia and Esdese..<p>

**10:30 northern outskirts of capitol**

As ordered Tatsumi with Julia and Izabelle begun their training in nearby woods.  
>They decided to start with game hide and kill - a game where they would try to hunt one another using any means at their disposal. Setting traps, hiding and ambushing opponents, long range combat, straight charging at enemy - anything goes, as long as not lethal and not using teigu.<p>

A kill was scored by either submission of the target, or putting the target in sure-kill situation (such as putting a weapon's edge to their neck or scoring an arrow in vital area).  
>Each Jaeger had a practice weapon for this purpose - wooden sword for Tatsumi, wooden dagger for Izabelle and a regular short bow with blunt tipped arrows for Julia.<br>The 'victim' had to put a red headband on, marking his/her defeat and return to small field clear of trees that was their starting point. Once 2 members were 'caught' they would yell for 3rd one to come out and round was over.  
>Also they limited the range of exercise to around 1,5 miles radius - so it wouldn't be impossible to find one another before dawn.<br>At the start signal each run away from each other in 3 different directions for 2 minutes, after which the hunt begun.

Tatsumi definitely found himself in hard spot. While it was 'every man for himself', without incursio's stealth he wasn't in exactly advantageous position.  
>Julia's insane danger detection abilities and Izabelle's stealth training gave both of them an edge in this situation. However when it came to melee it was clear who'll walk away the victor. So as long as he could get Julia in close range without getting killed, and not let Izabelle get the drop on him, match would be his.<p>

He decided that setting up an ambush is the best tactic for him. All those days of hunting danger beasts around his village were not in vain.  
>His brown hair and green eyes paired with plain clothing certainly did not stand out as much as Julia's green hair or Izabelle's everything. Having found some larger thick bushes he decided to set his trap there. He buried himself under the leafs and twigs, tying a few pieces of thin line to few branches around him, roughly 8 to 15 feet away from him. Depending on victim's position he would cause branches to shake, luring her near his spot..just enough for fast leap and little 1 to 1 up close and personal. And since he wasn't a specialist in covering up his tracks, it was sure they would soon track him...straight into the trap.<p>

"Well there goes half of my advantage" Julia ranted, taking off her glasses. Wave and rest of Jaegers knew her bracelet was a bow type teigu meant for long range combat. What they did not know, is that glasses she wore were part of the teigu, greatly amplifying her vision and providing her with ability to see infrared, ultra violet and other wave lengths not visible to human eye.

'Still my danger sense, smell and tracking skills are not a teigu, they won't escape for long.' she thought to herself.  
>One look at Julia's outfit revealed she was no stranger to this environment. Military boots for roughest terrain, long dark brown leather pants to avoid insect bites and branch scratches, with leather jacket to match, on top of dark green blouse provided for good camouflage, given the conditions. Knowing that first thing to get noticed by human eyes is movement she hid her long hair under the jacket. 'No need to wave it around, screaming left and right "I'm heeeere!"'.<p>

"Catching one brawn-no-brains kid should not be a problem" Izabelle thought as she tied her hair up putting it under camo cap, rest of uniform already in cloaking colors, ready to spot the enemy unseen.  
>'But Julia might be a problem. I'm best at hiding, but she's best at detecting'. After a brief thought Izabelle decided to track Tatsumi. Given her stealth training it was clear Julia would have only one decent set of tracks to follow - his. Izabelle's plan was to find Tatsumi as quickly as possible, then wait in hiding until Julia tracks him down. While the two fight with each other she would move closer unnoticed and take out the victor by surprise right after their fight ends.<p>

Tatsumi has now been solid 15 minutes in hiding, cursing his plan, as any movement, including checking what's behind him, would give away his position to possible nearby team members. The coldness of ground only added to the agitation.  
>Suddenly he heard footsteps nearby..few meters to his right, sadly behind him. Someone was approaching his blind spot.<br>'Finally some action!' he screamed in hand tightened the grip on his sword. 'But first..' he used his branch trick - to make the incoming victim believe he was further away and more to the right. But it didn't work, steps got closer.  
><em>'<em>_Julia would already shoot me, so it's __Izabelle__. __No point hiding then, good old face-to-face it is!'_  
>He leapt from his hiding spot with rarely seen fury, thrusting his sword forward to stab her before she stabs him. As long as it was Izabelle, 'his was bigger' and extra length of his sword was to his advantage. But rather then a seductive blonde his wooden blade nearly struck of a pair of red eyes with huge tusks glaring at him...<br>It was a boar type danger beast - small one compared to what normally you can find in the forest, but a danger beast non the less.  
>Sensing Tatsumi's power and killing intent it quickly turned tail and run, with dumbfounded Tatsumi receiving a small, yet painful blow in the back of his head.<p>

The red headband made for a great bandage as he angrily walked to the small field victimized by Julia's arrow. Her smile told him "sorry!", but with Izabelle still out there they couldn't afford the comfort of normal conversation.

"That was a nice shot!" Julia heard a voice behind herself as a hand holding a wooden knife was nearing her throat.  
>"Why thank you!" she merrily replied after blocking Izabelle's right hand with her own, striking her face with back of her own head, only to quickly tumble forward and prepare her bow to release an arrow.<br>Izabelle quickly hid behind nearest tree, Julia already firing the arrow at her retreating opponent but not hitting any vital spot.  
>"I did not expect our sniper to receive basic hand to hand combat training" Izabelle expressed her satisfaction.<br>"It's more then basic, but I feel best with my bow!" Julia replied merrily, circling the tree for a clear shot.

But as she circled it fully she found no one. All that was in the view was a slightly frightened boar type danger beast and some squirrels gathering nuts from forest floor.

"I'd hate to injure our only sniper" she heard as a feeling wooden dagger's tip at the back of her neck made the result of this fight obvious.  
>"So I let our little hand-to hand skirmish end there" Izabelle's voice announced triumphantly.<br>"You used your teigu..." Julia's voice fell to cold levels of her superior...  
>"Do you expect enemies to follow your rules?" she replied.<br>"Assassins just don't play fair!" suddenly a voice came from besides Izabelle her dagger hand being lifted up in the air and floating wooden sword at her throat.

"You too Tatsumi!" Julia pouted angrily.  
>Incursio clad Tatsumi let out sincere laughter, Julia was failing to maintain her angry act, and Izabelle's confident smile showed acknowledgement for the lesson they've learned.<p>

Further rounds were cancelled due to "Intolerable disregard for rules and decency by two participants".

Rest of the noon was spent hunting some minor and medium danger beats using team tactics, with minimal use of their teigu's offensive abilities. Much to Tatsumi's surprise, it seemed he naturally felt in sync with Julia, both of them filling each other's holes in offence, and understanding another's tactics. Izabelle lacked such ability, but on the other hand showed amazing skill at using any opportunities that arose for a quick and efficient kill.

**Jaeger dining hall 16:00**

Tatsumi, Julia and Izabelle returned to imperial castle after the first part of their training to grab a snack and get to talk to each other more. As it stood now, they've been near strangers this whole time.

"So Julia, what made you join the Jaegers in the first place?" Tatsumi asked.  
>"Hm...well...certain things I'm willing to disclose in private only to person I trust" she gave out a flirty smile.<br>But for now what I will say is that it was both my and my father's wish to accept the recruitment offer".  
>"Fair enough, with your heightened senses I can't fool you into thinking there aren't some bridges we two need to gap before trusting each other fully" Tatsumi replied.<br>"With my heightened senses I know you already trust me fully, you're just not accepting it yet", she commented in a soft voice.  
><em>'Well excuse me for having a girlfriend who's in dead middle of your scope'<em> he grunted in his thoughts.

"Jaegers and Night Raid will collide, regardless of our personal feelings on the matter.  
>Wise be it for you to not let your emotions guide you to your death" - Izabelle added.<br>"You sure know how to extend a warm loving hand to a fellow Jaeger" Tatsumi snarled.  
>"I'd rather have my hands cold and yours staying warm, then yours going cold because mine were too warm" - she replied with visible hint of sadness.<p>

"I sense everyone here has a story they're not willing to share" - Tatsumi voiced his suspicion.  
>"Truer words were never spoken. Or do you wish to break the chain and share stories of your time in Night Raid and what made you join it?" - inquired Izabelle.<br>"...To certain people here..I would. But I would have to keep some bits to myself, unless I want to see my friends die because I said too much.", he replied.  
>"If we're to work together toward our goals, that distrust will have to be removed and soon. One way or another." Isabelle concluded in a cold voice.<p>

Suddenly Tatsumi felt a hand grab his throat and a pair of lips on his left ear whispering "Well now, Tatsumi, you let yourself get killed. I cannot let that go unpunished tonight!".  
>Tears running down his cheeks, there was no doubt to whom that hand, lips and voice belonged.<br>"E-e-esdese...".  
>"Good boy Tatsumi...tonight you'll be saying that name a lot, I guarantee you. And in many tones of voice as well..." the tone of her voice going from sadistic to excited only caused him to further freeze in fear.<br>"J-Julia...why...?" - his despair now directed to teammate's indifferent behavior to the worst danger known to man.  
>"Don't trust your teammates absolutely Tatsumi...unless you're brave enough to take that risk" she replied cheerfully, her eyes throwing him a challenge.<br>"General Esdese, will you require any special tools for your..disciplining of Tatsumi for his subpar performance?"  
>"That's a very generous thought on your side Izabelle" Esdese replied.<br>"Come later to my office for the list.  
>It would indeed be a waste of precious time dragging Tatsumi to the torture chambers." Esdese's voice took on a caring tone, unfit for the topic of discussion.<br>Time that can be so well spent..." she started fantasizing, Tatsumi's quivering only adding fuel to the fire...

"Now then I'll just grab my afternoon Tats...I mean snack, and go back to discussions with Budou".  
>After grabbing a quick sandwich, while giving Tatsumi a few ...very hungry stares, Esdese parted with Jaegers, leaving behind love of her life in defensive position, incursio drawn, senses on highest alert..<br>Tatsumi could swear a snicker could be heard from where Julia sat, but all he saw was a pleasant smile and an innocent face of a pure angel.  
><em>'Angel my ass you backstabber'!<em>  
>After Tatsumi's most costly meal, he and Julia decided to do a patrol of capitol, Izabelle staying behind to "Help Esdese with paperwork".<p>

**Capitol, residential district**

'Patrol' was of course an excuse to not have Izabelle invent some real hard work for them, as they were still on duty, and one can only take so much of imperial palace, after spending some quality time in prison, then Jaeger HQ for the last week, not to mention his own little love-dungeon that awaited every night. And being out of range of Esdese's 'training' for the time being - well, that was just a tiny water melon sized cherry on top of the cake.

Residential area also felt a bit like home to Tatsumi...for all the wrong reasons though. The poverty of capitol's worker class subjects was all to obvious. Small ran down houses, reminiscent of his own village, lack of people on the streets..surely due to overtime at work to pay off ridiculous imperial taxes, and the few that were, shying away from anything that bore imperial markings. This reminded him all too well why he accepted Night Raid's offer to join. He was going to fix this, as soon as possible. But today was not that day. What he could fix here and now are his relations with his new teammate.

"Julia...so...maybe we can work on that trust of ours a bit?"  
>"Maaayyybe.." she replied cheerfully.<p>

"Well then maybe I'll start with my story with Night Raid, that is why I joined."  
>"It's a good start" Julia smiled.<br>"Well...as for me and Night Raid..I can't say too much ..but they saved my life when corrupted aristocrats were about to throw me into their torture chamber and kill me off just for fun.  
>So regardless what many think, I for one understand why they do what they do and owe them my life. I understand I owe Jaegers my life as well and I won't betray any of you when the time comes..but you know - fighting Night Raid or snitching on them is one game I'm sitting out."<p>

"Most of Jaegers aren't blind to evil of the empire either, certainly not Wave...and not me.  
>But as an archer I understand one thing above all - you first need to hone your sight, and look hard, really hard, at the source of the problem.<br>And only then, when you truly understand what, how and why is causing things to happen can you determine your target. Until then the arrow should stay in the quiver."

"Yeah, I know that now. Night Raid took many evil people down. But as it's body count grew, so did empire's defenses. At the end of the day many people got saved, but also many bodies piled up on both sides, some of those good people. And the solution to the root of the problem seems to be just as distant as it was on day one...".

"So that's why you joined the Jaegers? To seek a new, better way to help the people?"  
>"In many ways" he sighed, remembering that his "nightly tortures" kept royal torture chambers a much less scary place...<p>

"Well then, let's go and visit those Jaeger outposts! It'll be good for people to see we're also up and about caring for their safety and meeting our fellow soldiers working there."  
>While her age and enthusiasm reminded him bit of Seryu, none of the misguided justice or insanity seemed to be present in Julia. It was clear to him she was a good person, and a very perceptive one. It may be that upon learning more about Night Raid and dark side of empire she'll be just as reluctant to take part in this bloodbath as he is.<p>

**Esdese's chamber 21:00.**

"Thanks to my official business with Budou and teammate's help it seems you managed to "die" only once today. Esdese begun Tatsumi's punishment, maintaining her official attire fit for the occasion.  
>You do of course realize that it's one time too many." - her cold, authoritative tone didn't bode well for his near future.<p>

"You died today Tatsumi" – her voice suddenly switched to one full of theatrical despair covering her face with hands, striking a crying pose.  
>"My little heart broke, my hopes and dreams for you shattered, all that was left was empty void" she continued while placing her hands on her chest lowering her head to amplify the drama.<br>_'At least it's size description is accurate'_ Tatsumi commented in his mind.  
>"Now how can a pure maiden such as myself punish your unforgivable crime?" - her despair act turning into a predatory smile in an instant made him realize speeches were over and the real horror was about to begin.<p>

"Don't think poorly of me Tatsumi" said Esdese in her cutest voice to the boy firmly tied to her chair wearing nothing but his shorts.  
>"You reap what you saw" she commented his position running her finger across his back, his very vulnerable spot since last few...nights.<br>"I'll be sure to train hard, no hardest of all Jaegers!" he screamed hoping to talk his way out of 5 minutes of hell...  
>"I know you will, I will see to it personally...but here and now we're dealing your punishment, not discussing tomorrow..." her excited and slightly savage answer only made him shiver more.<br>Esdese sat on his lap grabbing his face in her hands stealing yet another kiss.  
>"You know since I can't be sure when you'll die on me," she continued with eyes gleaming,<br>"..I'll just have to use my time with you to the fullest, before that opportunity is forever lost to me!" she finished with lustful smile across her face.  
>"Esdese...I won't die on you I promise!"<br>"Ah but you already have, my little ghoul.." she teased, as she started to plant both kisses and bites on his neck and shoulders.  
>"I better take you now, before you start to rot.." - her teasing voice growing more silent while she pressed her body harder against his near-naked one.<p>

"Wait a second! Aren't our 5 minutes up already?"  
>"What are you talking about Tatsumi - check the clock! It's only 2 minutes so far.." her voice unable to hide her enjoyment at his failed attempt to weasel his way out.<br>"And why is there ice on clock's hands if I may ask?!" yelled Tatsumi.  
>"Must be the draft" she blatantly lied in most casual tone.<br>"LIKE HELL! Untie me!"  
>"Ah but we were just getting to the good part" she blushed.<br>"And imperial general also doesn't have to play fair" her voice reaching new levels of satisfaction, she stood up and started unbuttoning her jacket disregarding her plot's failure.  
>Suddenly a knock on the door interrupted Esdese's "torture" session.<p>

"Who the hell dares interrupt me?!" Esdese stormed to the door ready to give imperial torturers overtime this night.  
>"I'm sorry general, but Wave and Kurome returned from their patrol and require your immediate attention in selecting new missions for our cell" Julia's voice echoed from behind the door into Tatsumi's ear, a voice that was closest thing to an angel he could imagine at that time.<br>"Fine, we'll be down there in a minute" Esdese replied angrily, freeing Tatsumi and letting him dress up. The latter caught a wink from his savior as he glanced at the hallway where she stood. He could swear he saw a big pair of white wings on her back at that moment...

"Trusting your teammate with your life, huh" he thought to himself smiling.

**Night Raid HQ, afternoon**

"Hahaha, I can't wait to see their faces when they check us out!"  
>"Yeah, they're in for surprise that's for sure!"<p>

"Well Night Raid, your reinforcements have arrived, but are you ready for them?"  
>A tall man with finely toned muscles, messy long dark hair tied into a ponytail reaching bit behind his shoulders, straight mustache that dispelled any suspicion of his age with fierce and energetic dark eyes spoke in aura of unwavering confidence.<br>His black & dark brown colored heavy armor and a simple long metal staff in his hands seemed to match his image of experienced warrior, not afraid to tackle any challenge head on.

"The imperials most certainly won't." said his shorter and much less physically defined companion, sporting no visible weapon, only a strange backpack, that seemed to be made from metal, yet having surface remindful of polished granite, and clear defined geometrical patterns on it. Unlike his larger partner his long dark-green hair not tied in any way, along with cloth armor tinted black and green and few light armor panels on his body, only took away from his image of a capable warrior, let alone assassin. Youthful look, combined with lazy, bored stare from beneath his green eyes did not present any redeeming features to that impression.

Still for better or for worse these two were the reinforcements Night Raid was about to get.

"Well let's not keep them waiting any longer" the larger man spoke.  
>"Oh, and you can come out, and escort us to Najenda since you're already there Akame", his backpacked companion spoke.<br>"...Okay." replied startled assassin, leaving her hiding spot behind the trees.

Chapter End.

Next chapter –"The ultimate teigu"


	5. Chapter 5 - The ultimate teigu

Chapter 5 – The ultimate teigu

**Night Raid HQ, dining room, **

"I have been informed of your arrival, take a sit", Najenda welcomed the newcomers to Night Raid.  
>"Though to be honest I don't know what they were thinking, sending here just two men. We're up against empire's strongest, newly restaffed Jaegers and Wild Hunt, not to mention reward for our heads could buy you half a small province..."<p>

"Haha, don't you worry. Quality over quantity" the larger of the two brimmed with confidence.  
>"We've a lot to discuss and do, but why don't we start with introductions, the stares we're getting from your subordinates clearly demand it!" the large man bellowed."<p>

"Of course, my apologies.  
>Everyone, these are two newest members, sent to us by the revolutionary army at my request. But best I let them do the talking here" Najenda shifted the ball to newcomer's corner.<p>

"Don't mind if I do!" The staff warrior shouted.  
>"Call me Grazer, that's my battle nickname. Real name ain't half as awesome, so I'll keep that between myself and my superiors. As an assassin I really shouldn't be throwing such info around."<br>"If you're looking for my teigu, then yeah, this staff here is it.  
>It's called Atlas Rod and gives me ability to manipulate earth. Not only is it a powerful teigu, but in right hands, it can be extremely versatile, having many non standard uses.<br>Needless to say, I'm no slouch when it comes to close quarters combat with it either."

"That's reassuring to hear – we lack someone with a teigu giving both powerful offense and defense." Najenda commented.  
>Leone was about to interject at having Lionelle underestimated, but she quickly recalled the result of her one-on-one vs. Esdese and decided to stay silent.<p>

"But the real blast is the guy next to me", Grazer continued.  
>"He's name's Zenif, and his teigu is one of the three ultimates."<p>

"Ultimate teigu?" Najenda's raiser her eyebrow.  
>"Well, let's hear it!" Mine shouted in anticipation, not even trying to hide enthusiasm at hearing the term, leaning forward to the green haired backpacker.<br>She wasn't alone in her reaction, Leone followed suit, with Akame's eyes firmly homed in on the newcomer.  
>"Stealing a man's show is a rotten thing to do, so why don't we hear the story straight from the horse's mouth?" Grazer directed any remains of missing attention to his companion, giving him a nudge with his elbow.<p>

"Well, I suppose there are some things that only a true genius such as myself can do", the younger one smiled, radiating equally confident aura as his partner, though still looking like certifiable bum.  
>"Depending on the way you look at it, I'm both the most powerful and weakest teigu user.<br>But I suppose I should start from the top and explain what the ultimate teigu are, and how come you never heard of them"  
>"Unless you want me to skip this part?" he asked<p>

A series of death-stares from Mine and Leone served as the best answer.  
>"Riiiight..ekhum!"<br>"Well then, you all should know the old story – first emperor, 1000 years ago, 48 teigu, blah, blah, yapidy-yap-yap."  
>"This guy is a true poet." Mine interjected giving her most disapproving stare.<br>"As I was saying, before kids begun talking...the old story is not exactly wrong..but it's not exactly right either".

"1000 years ago the emperor did order development and construction of super weapons known as teigu. But he never planned on a fixed number of them. His was a plan to gain military advantage over every enemy there was for centuries to come. How was cutting the number of teigu down to 48 or abandoning further research on them serving that purpose?  
>"The correct answer is - it didn't. Not unless there was something else in the equation you weren't told about. That 'missing piece' are the ultimate teigu."<p>

When the development of regular teigu begun, the emperor was most impressed with their abilities, and quality. Clearly the hired craftsman and scientists rose up to his challenge.  
>But as magnificent as they were, they could not escape certain limitations and trappings of their nature. A teigu was a personal weapon – sure, it could make one person equal of 100 enemy soldiers, but it still relied on it's human master to operate. A master who's power and stamina were limited, and who would eventually tire and fall without taking a break or receiving support from allies. Also as finely crafted as they were, the teigu are not indestructible. Some are nigh impervious to wear and tear, but some are quite delicate and even unfortunate accident can smash them to pieces. In short, teigu were superior weapons for empire's finest soldiers, that would win them battles, but not wars. The possibility of them falling into enemy hands was another reason to keep their power limited.<p>

It wasn't long till emperor became aware of these flaws, though in no way outshining the obvious gains from having teigu on the battlefield. He understood that to continue down his path of arming his empire with teigu he needed to change his approach to them.  
>The first option he had was to start mass production of already developed personal teigu while slowly developing new types, to create an army of teigu users at his command.<br>The second was to create a new type of teigu, free from limitations of their normal counterparts and incomparably more powerful, though extremely hard to create and only few of them existing. What they would lack in number they would make up for with their nearly limitless power, thousandfold of a regular one. Such teigu would have to be under extremely tight control of emperor himself and those closest to him, never to be touched by the common soldier.

"And so he chose the second path" Najenda wrapped up this part of the story.

"Yes. Mass production of regular teigu posed too many threats and problems compared to the ultimate ones. With mass production of teigu, it would be much harder to guard their secrets and prevent their misuse."  
>"The power on empire's side would dwindle, as enemies would steal, study and create their own teigu. Should a revolution break out, there would be a great chance many teigu users would be found in it's ranks as well. Finally some of the teigu required rare materials that were simply in not sufficient abundance to make then in large quantities. Incursio being one such example.<br>Still while the ultimate teigu were his final choice, that didn't mean normal ones were to be flushed down the toilet. "

"One shortcoming of ultimate teigu was that they were too powerful for their own good. If their existence were to be made public, enemies of empire would begin an immediate arms race to catch up, cold wars ensuing in short time after that. Maybe even open war would break out out of fear of empire's military advantage growing too rapidly to ignore. On top of that one can only imagine the internal struggles for control over such a power.  
>For those reasons alone, the ultimate teigu had to be kept a secret, never to see light of the day, until the time of need."<p>

"And that's where the normal teigu came in. As a demonstration of empire's scientific power, as well as a cover up for all the costs and materials associated with development of both themselves and their hidden ultimate versions. Since they were completely unknown technology, going into never before seen fields, one could put any number next to development cost and no one would know any better. Fact that regular ones could be handed to talented soldiers of the empire and fight wars without enticing mass panic was also a major benefit of regular teigu development program.

While it took a huge amount of funds and time, the development of 3 ultimate teigu reached it's fruition around where the 47th teigu was being completed. Since 48th was already halfway through, the emperor let that one finish as well, only to decide to cut teigu program due to "unacceptable costs and reaching boundaries of empire's scientific capability" during their production. The knowledge used to make them was sealed, craftsman silenced in one way or another, and history books would record the time as golden age of empire reaching it's peak that would not be attainable to anyone, empire itself including for the longest time.  
>All the while emperor and his domain already had more then enough power to deal with any foreseeable future threat thanks to the ultimate teigu.<p>

"But now we know all about it thanks to our secret weapon, packing ultimate punch vs the empire!" Leone shouted happily.  
>"Yeah!" Now THAT's what I call reinforcements! Mine also couldn't keep her emotions in.<br>"About that punch...that would be "Emperor's wrath" ultimate teigu...not mine. It's in the capitol."  
>"..Heh?"<p>

"..Wha...?! Then just what does this shitty backpack of yours do except looking stupid?" Mine raged at her dreams shattered to bits.

"Glad you asked!" the green haired shadow of a person suddenly stood up confidently placing his right leg on the table, radiating aura of energy and confidence worthy of a warrior who just fell 100 enemies.  
>"The ultimate support teigu, legendary 'Teigu of Teigus', the one who kept their existence throughout the recent millennium, the immortal 'Phoenix Forge' is right here at your side!"<br>"It is the source off all teigu, it's creator, it's mother and father! It can monitor any and all teigu, repair them, or build them from scratch!" he ended not sparing a single hand gesture to ensure the message of his awesomeness spreads far and wide with proper force.

"Wait...so you can MAKE any teigu for us including ul...ultimates?!" Mine's sudden surge of awe made even her shocked to the point of having difficulty speaking.  
>"Well, no...not really."<br>"WHAT THE HELL?! You mean to tell me that this ultimately shitty so-called support teigu can't even do it's own damn job right? Mine's twin tails almost swept the chandelier off in fit of rage."  
>"What did you just call "ultimately shitty" you bust-free underdeveloped excuse for aesthetically challenged loli?!"<br>"That piece of junk you carried out from nearest junkyard like the bum you are!"  
>"For your information, given you understand such term, Phoenix Forge was created to maintain existence of teigu, not breed them like rabbits!"<br>"So just what can it do?!" this time Leone jumped into the discussion.

"Well, for example this!" he suddenly put his teigu on the table, clapping his hands together causing the weird backpack to open and transform into a shape of shiny, black anvil with glowing patterns around it's body and flat, shiny surface displaying some unknown symbols in bright green color.  
>"Phoenix forge. Teigu Susanooh, location and status."<p>

Najenda's attention turned to the new member suddenly spiked to it's apex.

The anvil responded with rows of new green symbols appearing on it's surface, which seemingly only it's owner could make out.  
>"Location: 146.24''45.08''  
>Status: destroyed<br>Current owner: none  
>Previous owner: Najenda"<p>

Very well then...

"Phoenix Forge. Teigu Susanooh construction and teleportation to my terminal."

Once again the anvil responded with few unknown symbols seemingly freezing it's functionality.  
>"So where is Sus!?" Mine exploded after 2 minutes of silence waiting for something to happen.<br>"He'll be here any minute soon, unlike your puberty" teigu anvil's owner didn't waste opportunity to take a jab at his mortal enemy – the offender of his ultimate treasure.  
>Just as Mine was about to jump at his throat, suddenly a small green circle filled with geometrical shapes made from super-condensed letters of some unknown language appeared on the surface of the anvil form of his teigu.<br>Short flash of light after, the circle was gone, and Susanooh's familiar core gently resting on it's surface.  
>"He has been constructed anew, but his memories were all stored in phoenix forge and imprinted into him. In short he remembers all of you and any past events before his destruction".<p>

"Susanooh.." touched Najenda reached for her old friend.

"Na-ah!" Grazer took teigu's core from the anvil hiding it in his pocket.  
>"We'll save that reunion till after we fix you up, General. That's an order from the brass, so no backtalk" - he cut the matter short.<br>"Order from the brass?" she grunted.  
>"Yeah, they got mixed feelings about your judgment and fearing you might do something rush, like trying to infiltrate capitol with just 3 members and one nearly dead general! So they didn't just send me here with a pat on the back, but also with orders for you."<br>"So what orders are those?"  
>He handed her a sealed letter.<p>

"To put it shortly, the part you need to know I'll say right here, right now. Rest is inside the envelope for general Najenda's eyes only"

"Firstly with help of Zenif here, we will restore Najenda's lost health due to her teigu's trump card over usage and restore said teigu as well. Well,last part is already done."  
>Once we whip her up in shape, we are to deal with general Esdese, striking major blow to the empire and boosting revolutionary's army morale.<br>Which recently thanks to her doings is not soaring. "  
>Lastly there's a little matter of the one called Tatsumi"<br>"Unless it's part of some covert operation, we're to deal with this traitor at any costs, his head being equally important target to general Esdese"

"Tatsumi's not a traitor!" Mine shouted.  
>"Watch your mouth old man!" Leone growled.<br>Akame stayed silent but smiled at her companion's reaction.

"As you suspected, he is part of our covert operation to strike at Esdese and Prime Minister." Najenda calmly answered man's question.  
>"Obviously we had to keep quiet about it, being a caught member of Night Raid already put him on the death row. Any rumors of him being a double agent would get the boy killed."<br>She lied in the most casual manner. But like all of Night Raid she new full well Tatsumi was not a traitor, and given his current situation he could easily perform the role she just attributed to him.

"Pardon me for asking, but knowing how Night Raid members stick together, why am I to believe you're not making the story up to cover his ass?"  
>"Or in other words – give me a valid explanation why you believed he would not be chopped to pieces, nor betray you when given occasion to escape executioner's blade by the imperial army?"<p>

"General Esdese is in madly in love with Tatsumi, though it's one-sided feeling" Najenda begun her justification of fake infiltration mission.  
>"She already abducted him twice, we have his reports on the matter if you need to take a look. Being charged with destroying Night Raid I was pretty sure she'd be there, and ultimately be his captor".<br>"As for reason to trust him not to turn on us – if he did I'd be spending this night in her torture chamber. And he's not too fond of being cuddled by that monster either".  
>Her choice of words was not the most fortunate. While Grazer nodded in approval, believing her story, Mine started getting all anxious at the mention of Esdese cuddling her boyfriend.<p>

"Very well" he replied.

"I will relay that information to superiors and for now change the plan from assassinating Tatsumi to meeting him, and asserting both his allegiance as well as usefulness to our cause as our agent in their ranks."  
>That would be about all that I have to say regarding orders from the brass. Sorry for this, but order is an order, had to touch some nasty subjects there." he finished.<br>"...Zenif." Akame suddenly spoke.

"You must be Akame, pleasure to meet you." he replied.  
>"Good to have you with us." she smiled.<br>"Feeling's mutual!", he retorted.

"Though I doubt you just wanted to say hi, right?" his face getting more serious.

"Yes. You said empire has an ultimate teigu. Ultimate destruction teigu. But they didn't use it. Why?"

"They can't. It's a long story for another time, but to wrap it up short – they can't use it until emperor turns 16 years old.  
>But the moment he does, it's all over. So the revolution's gotta achieve success within that time, or you better find a nice cave on the bottom of ocean to hide in" he bitterly stated.<p>

"And the revolutionary army has no plans regarding growing fins and gills" the bigger of newcomers concluded.

**Najenda's room 21:00**

"When I asked for reinforcements I never expected my superior and a kid with a teigu like that to appear" Najenda spoke to man known as 'Grazer'.  
>"Maybe if your opponent wasn't Esdese and my reckless subordinate didn't suffer such losses, you'd receive someone..more pleasant to look at" he let out a loud chuckle.<p>

"Jokes aside matters are grave. Both me and other leaders of revolution are not happy with Night Raid's mishaps. You do a fine job of eliminating our targets,, but when it comes to secrecy every stray dog in capitol knows every member of your group by their name and face."  
>"There was little that could be done, sir. Things were bound to get ugly when Esdese and her Jaegers become our opponents. This is no longer matter of simple executions on some aristocratic slime butchering innocents for fun."<br>"I know. Assassination of Borric, assaulting Wild Hunt, clashes with Esdese - your recent missions are anything but trivial. However this one now, eclipses them all."

"You mean taking down Esdese?"  
>"No. She's a most difficult target to be sure, but the real game is far bigger then her."<br>"Meaning?"  
>"The ultimate teigu. This guy, Zenif - can both win this revolution for us, as well as have us eradicated in seconds."<p>

"What do you mean? He said his teigu is support type, not offensive."  
>"Yes, and his loyalty to our cause is without a doubt. But if imperials were to capture him – they could use "Emperor's wrath" without waiting for emperor to grow out of his bunny slippers."<br>"His safety is top priority, that's why I'm here. But keeping him hidden under a rock and just waiting will only get us killed. With Esdese, Budou and other obstacles we have little choice. We'll need his ultimate teigu to get the edge we need, or get ready for a long and bloody war, one we cannot wage with limited resources and manpower fueled by hope and rage rather then warm quarters and monthly salary.

"And this is where Night Raid comes in. Supported by me and Zenif it'll take that huge gamble, but one with high returns. Killing any of Esdese, Budou, or Honest will greatly leverage the scales of war in our favor and seal our victory. Failure however will have dire consequences for all of us."

"And you call me reckless" she sighed.

"Revolutions are not won by taking it slow and safe. Whatever we can do to increase our chances, we will."  
>"Also, that boy Tatsumi."<br>"What about him?" she frowned  
>"I won't lie to you. His presence in enemy ranks, totally unscathed is costing revolutionary army great losses. Troop morale is shredded to pieces by increased defections to empire, and lack of faith in our command that 'Is ok with traitors making careers in the empire' ".<br>"To sum it up short – unless the boy delivers Esdese's head on a silver plate or something of equal value, he will be dealt with, guilty or not."

"..."  
>Najenda understood the man's logic, as hard as she clenched her teeth hearing it.<br>Only hope was for Tatsumi to surpass both his and hers expectations and bring home something that will not force her to do the most horrible deed in her life...

**Night Raid dining room, Next morning**

"Ok, now that we had our breakfast, it's time we got busy" Najenda begun their briefing.

"Right. Me and Zenif will move our rears and fetch a special teigu to heal Najenda" Grazer took initiative in choosing his role.  
>"Also general, can we take Leone with us? Her agility would be very useful in retrieving the teigu."<p>

"I'm sorry but I have other plans for Leone. You two can take Akame, she's equally if not more agile then Leone. I hope you two don't mind.  
>"I got no objections!" Zenif made his opinion clear.<p>

"I'd feel less guilty taking Leone due to her regeneration, but I'll trust your judgment" his older partner complied.  
>"We'll be gone for a day or two" Zenif summed up.<br>"So don't do anything reckless angering your superiors while we're gone!" Grazer bellowed giving Najenda a stare.

"Very well, you two can go and ask our staff for necessary supplies and instructions on avoiding our traps when leaving and entering compound."  
>"Like the ones I disarmed down to last one on my way in before?" large man chuckled.<br>"So you're the smart ass that forces me to spend whole day in HQ resetting the damn things!" Mine raged.  
>"Guess Mine briefed herself today" Najenda chuckled following her superior.<br>"Just hurry up and get that teigu or whatever, we gotta go bail Tatsumi a.s.a.p.!"  
>"It took you long enough just getting here!" her twin tails were flying all over the room as she raged at yet another delay.<p>

"Ah, almost forgot!" Zenif interjected, giving Grazer an explicit look.  
>"Ah, you mean that, ok." he opened his pocket and put Susanooh's core on in his.<br>The core started humming and soon jumped out of his hand to quickly build it's artificial tissue around itself , manifesting in matter of seconds the dearly missed friend to all Night Raid members.  
>"You may not be physically fit to use it yet, but I am." he explained.<br>"Susanooh – look after Najenda, Night Raid members and their HQ while we're gone!".

"Yes master." he replied. Najenda's eyes were in tears, everyone else feeling like weight of the world was lifted from their shoulders.  
>"Sorry but for now that's all I can do. I'll gladly hand him over when you're healed" the green haired young man, looking less trashy then usual, almost cool even, parted with those words running after his partner.<br>"Akame...i think they need you too" Najenda spoke failing to control tone of her touched voice.  
>"Yes, boss" she replied with a soft smile and silent but happy voice.<br>"Boss, any job for me?" Leone, now in high spirits asked her superior.  
>"Come to my office in 15 minutes" Najenda ordered her voice getting a lot more strict and serious.<p>

**15 minutes later**

"Ok chief, I'm here, why the hold-up?"  
>"I have a special mission for you and I prefer our newcomers don't see you doing it."<br>"Now this is getting interesting!" Leone's eyes gleamed as her mischievous side took over.  
>"Matter is serious, Leone".<br>"All the more I should hear it now, rather then scolding."  
>"It's about Tatsumi. It's been to long. I want you to check up on him, meet him in secret if possible. Find out if he's still on our side, or gave in to Esdese."<br>"That won't happen on my watch and you know that" Leone's voice became ferocious at mere mention of Esdese's name.  
>"If he's still the Tatsumi we know, ask him about any critical information on the empire that could make taking out Budou, Prime Minister or Esdese herself easier on us.<br>If he hasn't, tell him to get it soon, because revolutionary army is getting antsy and ready to brand him a traitor unless proven otherwise."  
>"Don't worry boss, I'll bring back good news or his torn off ears if he spews any Esdese nonsense!" Leone shouted confidently and run out of her room to accomplish her mission with speed of lightning.<p>

**Jaeger dining room, 7am**

"Thanks to Julia's ...timely... summoning yesterday," Esdese started gritting her teeth, not hiding her displeasure at last night's obstruction, "we already have our first requests and reports from the capitol's citizens".

"However, as mentioned earlier, any rebel activity or Night Raid incursion into our territory must be met with response above all else."  
>Tatsumi's eyes widened, and attention raising to maximum.<br>"Night Raid made a move?!" Wave took the weight of popping the question of his shoulders.  
>"That delicacy will not be on my plate today" Esdese denied with clear disappointment in her voice.<br>"I've been assigned to harass a rebel army outpost that is getting too close to capitol for comfort."  
>"I admire their choice of professional for the job" - Tatsumi's sarcasm caused Julia to let out a silent sneaker.<br>Seemingly ignoring Tatsumi's remark Esdese continued.

"Izabelle with Kurome will do daily patrol and check on our outposts today.  
>Wave and Jack will do combat training. "<br>Tatsumi could feel aura of despair emanating from sit next to Julia's.

"While Julia and Tatsumi will handle their first case - an alleged rebel army hideout. Needless to say arrests are preferable for interrogation, but don't hesitate to kill when necessary. Be sure to have your teigu on you, Tatsumi."  
>"General Esdese...isn't there a different crime report I could handle?"<br>"I specifically selected this as your first task, no excuses will be tolerated" Esdese forcibly closed the topic.  
><em>'You hate it, but you must experience this first hand, Tatsumi. Your <em>_naiveté__ will be the death of you, unless cured fast. It's better learn friend from foe today while facing few drunks who want to stab you with a knife, then become an easy prey for a real assassin tomo__r__row'_ she voiced her true reason in her thoughts only.

"Julia you seem to be good at keeping Tatsumi safe, so I trust you to keep a leveled head", Esdese commanded, not hiding her slight anger in voice when uttering the "safe" part.  
>"Yes general Esdese" she warmly replied.<p>

"Also Tatsumi, before I leave we can spar with each other for 15 minutes" she added in calm voice .  
>"Our yesterday's ...training was cut short."<br>Tatsumi knew full well where this was going - in direct combat with her he'd be lucky if he got off with 20 hours of stacked "death penalties".  
>And he sure didn't plan to be "tied down" with this extra "training".<br>"I should get on my first case immediately, no telling what sort of crimes are getting committed at that den of evil!" he shouted, quickly leaving the room, pulling Julia by her hand with him.  
><em>'That's what you think'<em> Esdese smiled to her self feeling rush of excitement.  
>"This concludes today's briefing" she stated right before she lunged at full speed behind Tatsumi and his partner.<p>

"Evading your drills will not be tolerated!" Esdese's ecstatic voice echoed in castle's halls as the pursuit of her beloved prey begun.  
>"Shit SHIT SHIT! We gotta move!" he yelled to Julia who was rather amused at this whole "hunt".<br>"She's faster then us, we should split up!" remarked Julia.  
>"Good idea! Near the staircase!" - he selected the place to part their ways.<br>Esdese was hot on their trail, but thrill of the hunt caught up with her and she slowed down a bit to give her prey some head start. It's no fun if it ends after 15 seconds, right?  
>Good luck! Tatsumi quickly parted with Julia, him bolting out the back door opposite to front entrance to Jaeger wing of the castle, leading him into rear garden of the compound, while Julia taking staircase up, eventually leading to their quarters.<p>

Opened door and loud footsteps from above didn't delay Esdese for long. Next time wear male shoes, then maybe I'll believe you're Tatsumi, she smiled as she went into the garden closing the door behind her.  
>"Now to find my present...so can take my time unwrapping it tonight" her heart raced at both the thrill of hunt and thought of the reward that awaited.<br>The garden wasn't very big, but it connected to another building in this wing of castle - the imperial archives. Also if one chose the small path around that he could escape into the larger part of gardening complex that could provide some meaningful hiding places and few forks in the road that could help deceive his pursuer.

Esdese couldn't take it anymore. Enough is enough. Using her tracking skills she quickly begun pursuit of her defenseless Tatsumi, in mere moments arriving at central part of the garden with small bower in front of her. But that's where the tracks ended, and he was nowhere in sight.  
>"Taa-tsuuu-miii!"<br>"Don't make this harder then it has to be!" she yelled as she heightened her senses to detect anything recalling a human reaction - be it movement, heavy breathing, or a quiet yelp.

"Aniki, I will never forget your kindness" thought Tatsumi as once again incursio's invisibility saved him from the worst fate imaginable.  
>"Thank yourself" he heard a familiar voice from the back of his head, reminding him that the idea to leap from the bower's top into Esdese's chamber using open window on balcony and teigu's enhanced mobility was his own.<br>She already crossed living quarters off the list, thinking it was just a decoy using Julia.  
>"Sorry Esdese, today you don't get to shower me with your tears" Tatsumi thought, while wearing one of the happiest smiles he ever made, though at this moment hidden under incursio's helmet.<p>

"Tsh...outwitted, huh?" Esdese snarled..  
>'No, matter, there will be more opportunities, and the challenge of the chase makes it only more exciting'.<br>'However, that ex-girlfriend of his is still clearly on his mind. She needs to go. For both of our sakes he needs to lose any sympathy for rebels and especially Night Raid. And she's the #1 tie to that.'  
>'Not to mention her private torture session with me is long overdue.' she clenched her teeth, her eyes shining with freezing, murderous sparkle.<p>

With this in mind Esdese ended her small "leisure activities", returning to the matter of certain revolutionary army's camp in dire need of some carnage...

Chapter End

Next chapter – "Battle of Sha'naah"


	6. Chapter 6 - The battle of Sha'naah

Chapter 6 - "Battle of Sha'naah"

**Trade city of Sha'naah, 9am**

The ancient city of Sha'naah was the central hub of Capitol's trade with southern regions of the Empire.  
>With wast plains to the north giving easy passage to and from capitol, and great desert to the south, it was both the heart of trade and first, yet extremely powerful line of defense from any invaders that would dare to choose the desert route.<br>Given the impossibility of getting any heavy siege engines across the desert, and a heavy toll on any army that tries to cross it, the city's well rested defenders and denial of water, food and rest would in most cases be enough to crush any force foolish enough to attempt surprise attack from this direction.

That however was a totally different story should the invading army be welcomed by the residents of the city, and provided actual help in getting troops and parts of their war machines across.  
>And being the city of commerce and trade it was one of the firsts in line to offer secretive help to revolutionary army, as few will raise sooner to oppose high taxation then the merchants and bankers.<br>They knew the game all too well themselves and the disastrous results of absurd tax raises on their own business.

From above, the city looked like a beautiful jewel of the desert. Encircled with it's walls made of sandstone, punctured only by four gates each leading in one direction of the world, the streets were bustling with life, trade and social activity. There was not a fragment of this city that would not be filled with life, especially the central market adorned with state of the art architecture of temple at it's very heart, and filled to brim with countless rare and foreign goods that would soon be shipped to the capitol.

Esdese however had another view of it all. That of a nice, perfectly round practice target. With large amount of extra points for landing crushing blow right in the middle.  
>As she flew from the north on the back of her tamed dragon she could already hear the exciting screams of the weak, perishing under hails of ice, one after another. She would take her time, not killing everyone off in one fell swoop.<br>'_You can never get too much fear and terror out of weaklings before they die__'_ she thought.  
>Though she had make sure a few would survive to tell the tale and pass their superiors a small message of what happens to mice that dare prance about in front of the cat.<p>

She was in a bad mood today, and as usual, she intended to "share it" with everyone else. But as she drew near, she felt discontent at the initial idea. Raining down ice from above, causing mass panic, deaths and mayhem was certainly a good way to start her day...but it lacked something.

It lacked challenge. The very same thing that made catching her beloved Tatsumi and "punishing" him so much fun.  
><em>'If I just bombard them with ice form above, then there is no challenge in that at all. On top of that they might later spread tales of me being a coward who was afraid to face <em>_the __enemy __head__ on and went for __weakling's tactic of __ striking __from out of their range!'_.  
>She wondered a bit on a more satisfying way to go about her killing.<br>_'__T__his might be interesting'_, she thought licking her lips, sadistic smile creeping across her face.  
><em>'I'll play a little game with them, before dealing their well deserved punishment for both weakness and stupidity'.<br>_With these thoughts settling in her mind, she lowered her dragon's flight altitude and speed to get a good stationary position in front and above city's north gate.  
><em>'Now let the fun begin'<em> she stood up on it's back and used her demon's extract to create giant ice walls blocking all of city's main gates, save for the one she was nearing.  
>She then flew her dragon near it and swooped down from it's back right in front of shocked crowd.<p>

"I'm general Esdese of imperial army!  
>By decree of the emperor, for foolish act of assisting the rebellion, this city is to be razed to the ground!<br>However I'm not without..."  
>Few beheaded warriors, skewered archers and seconds later..<br>"..not without mercy."  
>I'm giving 10 minutes to any rebel warrior who has some backbone in them, to challenge me in an open duel. If one shows up in that time and defeats me, obviously you all will get to live.<br>Unfortunately there are no rewards for almost winning, save maybe torture chamber", she grinned sadistically at the very thought of "extra fun" that would come with the challenge.  
>With the challenge issued, she created an ice throne for herself and took a comfy seat right in front of northern gate awaiting for someone to disrupt her little rest and relaxation.<p>

It seemed Esdese was out of luck. The fresh corpses of warriors and archers that attacked her during the speech were most likely nearly all the candidates for the challenge.  
>Everyone wanted her dead, obviously, but no one had the balls to step up and do it himself, or least so she thought.<br>"Well done, everyone!" suddenly a deep male voice spoke from the crowd.  
>"Attacking her or accepting her challenge would be foolish – these poor men are best proof."<br>"Now all of you just step back and let me do this. This will be a fair battle – of two teigu users."  
>A hooded, large, yet not overly bulky figure stepped out from the crowd, holding a very long, heavy looking metal rod.<br>"General Esdese, I will humor your little challenge." the man spoke.  
>"Well, looks like it may not be such a boring day after all!" she laughed sadistically as she rose from her icy seat.<p>

**15 miles south of Night Raid HQ, an hour earlier**

"'We got a problem" - The laziest of Night Raid's teigu users spoke.  
>"What's up, kid?" Grazer asked.<br>"My teigu scan is going off. We either got unfriendly teigu user in 3 mile radius, or someone on my danger list is making a larger move".  
>"Ok, I'll do my tremor scan for any nearby humans" Grazer begun their two man "absolute scan" procedure.<br>"And I'll run a full check any any teigu that are closer to us then they need be" the young one took charge if his part of the scan.

Zenif extracted a foot long metal rod from right top side of his backpack, which then split into two equal halves along it's vertical axis and revealed a thin, dark translucent surface as he pulled them apart from each other. It looked like a glowing map with some symbols on it, one moving at fast pace.  
>"Here we go...it's not near here, but it's one of my danger list – teigu #47 – demon's extract user is on the move from capitol southwards."<br>"I didn't detect nothing that would resemble human footsteps either. So seems it's just Esdese that's the cause of your alarm going off.  
>But if she's heading south...this is bad. She'll most likely run into our base at Sha'naah! We got a lot of troops and supplies stationed there!"<p>

Akame, change of plans! We have to go there and intercept her if that's her destination!"  
>"We'll we make in time?" she asked.<br>"Don't worry, that's what our teigu specialist is here for!"  
>"It's moments like this that remind me why I hate your guts!" phoenix forge user groaned.<br>Akame was starting to get curious what was going to happen next.  
>This time his backpack stayed on his back and didn't seem to be focus of his attention. Instead she saw him reach into his pocket and pull out a palms sided octagon shaped item with strange flower petal design in the middle. He seemed to be pressing something on it's side, but it didn't make any noticeable signs of whether it worked or not.<br>"Ok, I set the destination to our rebel base. Good thing I marked that place before we headed to Night Raid HQ. Teigu Shambhala! Activate!" Zenif yelled with untypical enthusiasm, creating a mysterious glowing purple circle on the ground full of intricate symbols creating geometric patterns.  
>Akame remembered that one – while it was of different color, it's shape and behavior were similar to the time susanoo was summoned to them after being reconstructed in this guy's teigu forge.<br>It wasn't just the shape it was familiar, it's diameter as well...roughly 1 foot.

"I saw this coming..." Grazer sighed.  
>"Piss off! You know I got weak stamina and why I can't change that!"<br>"Just use the other one", the unofficial leader of their 'expedition' rolled his eyes.  
>"Yeah, yeah I know..." disgruntled, ultimate teigu, but not ultimate stamina owner barked through his teeth.<p>

He then pulled out another strange item from his left pocket. It looked like a glowing white crystal, very simple in it's shape, locked between two metal octagon shaped handles of sorts, one being flat and polished, while other having 8 small miniature metallic octagonal attachments on each of it's edges.  
>He then turned the smooth metallic ending of teigu 90 degrees to the right. It seemed the lower part of that handle could be rotated, while the one under it was permanently grafted into the crystal.<br>"Ok, now I just need to take this" he mumbled to himself taking one of the small octagonal attachments from the other end of teigu and putting it on shambhala.  
>"One more time!"<br>This time the circle reached hefty 5 yards in diameter with no issues, glowing far more brightly then before.  
>"Everybody inside the circle, now!"<br>With bright flash of purple light shooting upwards from the mark on the ground, they suddenly found themselves inside Sha'naah. Barely 50 minutes before Esdese's little visit...

**55 minutes later**

"I suppose your courage should be rewarded with something else then just death – tell me your name, so I can at least report it as one man with guts in this hole of weakness and cowardice." Esdese beckoned to her new victim.  
>"Just think of me as a nameless defender of my favorite pub" the mysterious challenger avoided the question.<br>"For your sake I hope those drinks are to die for" she replied in satisfied tone pulling out her rapier.  
>"Everyone get back at least 30 meters! Else I don't vouch for your safety!" the challenger yelled to the gathered bystanders, who quickly started running away from the spot.<br>"You can't vouch for their safety if they backed up by 2 miles, as long as I'm here!" she yelled with bloodlust in her voice as she lunged forward.

But the moment she tried to make a leap forward ground all around her erupted. Shocked she stopped in her tracks, only to notice that the "eruptions" aren't doing her any harm. They were small, but focused bursts that just shot out small bits of sand high into the air, without doing any serious damage.  
>"So that's your game" she thought as in second the visibility dropped to zero in this artificial sandstorm, and noise of those tiny eruptions obscured anything but loudest of screams from reaching her ears.<p>

_'Lets see if you're as good as you think'_ she thought as she hurled 6 one meter ice shards at his last known position.  
>She needed not to wait long for response – several small but very sharp and fast stone projectiles flew from different directions. All being sure fatal hits had it not been for her unnatural reflexes and danger sense.<br>As she run around in the sandstorm she noticed the projectiles seemed to never miss her current position and came from angles that made no sense, unless her opponent would be as fast as herself.

_'Yeah, that's what happens when you think that big equals stupid' _Grazer's mind was bent on teaching Esdese a lesson for underestimating him.  
>Thanks to his ability to sense tremors with his teigu he could read out Esdese's movement in this zero visibility zone and deceive her by hurling projectiles from many unnatural spots and angles, making her think he was running like a madman.<br>In fact he was at the very spot he begun with, hiding behind a small, but sturdy wall of stone to protect him from her projectiles. Reason for this setup was the weakness of his teigu – it had to be in contact with earth, to use and control it's earth abilities. It could create anything out of earth he commanded, and place it or launch in at any place within certain radius around him, but losing contact with ground meant losing control over his sandstorm and revealing his position.

Esdese was getting tired of this goose-chase. It was time to show her opponent the true danger he was facing. She quickly stopped, dodged he 2 stone shards aimed at her throat and abdomen, then created four ice walls around her, forming an ice pyramid and a fool proof defense against more projectiles. With that annoyance out of the way, she knelt down and touched the ground, freezing it in around 50 yards radius.  
>With ground completely frozen the sand could not longer be launched and the sandstorm stopped revealing a slab of stone and a very discontent, trapped man behind it.<p>

"Been a long time!" she shouted at him not hiding her sadistic grin.  
>"Don't worry about that slab of rock, I'll take care of that for you!" she yelled as she formed a miniature version of her Hagel Sprung - a cylinder of ice used as a battering ram, this time around 2 meters in diameter and 3 meters long. She effortlessly hurled it at the trapped man and his makeshift defense.<br>Pouring power into his staff he ripped the ice holding his feet apart and launched himself away from danger, just in the nick of time, avoiding getting flattened by the outrageously sized projectile of hers. Both his rock wall and 2 houses behind it were not so lucky, as the block of ice pierced them like nothing traveling good 50 meters further before coming to a stop.

Unfortunately his time to get up was all the time she needed to get in close range and make this a battle of swordsman vs staff master. Given her superhuman strength and speed, not a fair one, to be sure.  
>She begun by delivering a strong thrust to his chest, clearly not deeming his armor any obstacle. The sheer force pushed him backward by 2 meters or so before regaining balance, but much to her surprise the armor held.<br>"So it's not just for show huh?" she snarled. "But you're still way too slow and weak!" she laughed as she charged again this time delivering quick thrusts to several spots most of them armored, but some more exposed like his elbows and side of torso.  
>But he wasn't just about to act like a pincushion without any retort. While weaving to sides to avoid the most lethal blows, he swiftly swung his staff deflecting one of her thrusts to his left elbow following with spinning right knee into her side, only to get blocked by her left hand with little effort and "Too slow" followed by a painful jab in his right leg. As the pain shot up his leg, she grabbed him by the collar of his armor and tossed him good 5 meters from his current position in front of an empty house back to their sandy arena in front of the northern gate, ripping his hood off in the process..<br>"At last we meet face to face" her predatory smile grew.  
>"But this is no fun." her voice was now expressing sheer disappointment.<br>I expected more, especially after your non too shabby sneak attack at the beginning."  
>"Careful what you ask for" - he replied with confident voice, despite kneeling with a bleeding leg.<br>"Well don't keep me waiting, unless you prefer to fight crawling" she yelled with excitement as she lunged towards his uninjured leg.

But that came to quick halt with her balance lost, and diving head first into sand...spikes that emerged from the ground at the place of her estimated landing. She twisted her body to the left, grabbing top of one such spike with her left hand and pushing herself away from them before landing.  
>Immediately she got to her feet and not a moment too soon as the ground under her feet begun vibrating – a sure tell sign of incoming trouble. A wide smile shot across her face - "You broke my ice!".<br>Indeed, extreme heat of the sun, and his own teigu both broke her icy grip on earth while he let his armor do most of the defending for him.

But this time around it's Esdese who was on the defense. Spikes raising from ground every time she tried to freeze it anew, trip stones popping up under her feet the moment she tried to run in one direction for longer then one second, gusts of sand thrown in her eyes the moment she tried looking his way, even small quicksand puddle at her landing spot, when she jumped back from one of spike traps.

While failing to deliver any serious injury it kept pressure on her, preventing any bigger attack or freezing the ground again.  
>She quickly realized she was not going to win this game of cat and mouse anytime soon, unless she would nullify his advantage somehow. The first and most logical choice was to jump up into air – one place he could not reach so easily. With that idea set firmly in her mind she leaped up solid 20 meters and created three dozen small ice shards in the air, immediately launching them at her opponent curving their trajectory to make defending from them all the more harder..<br>Few ice shards were nothing for his armor, but few of them were pinpoint aimed at exposed areas and he couldn't dodge them in his current condition. He had to deflect them with his staff – his stamina was at it's brink – he couldn't count on his earth abilities to react on time with perfect accuracy.  
>Deflecting 4 of them with his Gaea Rod saved his neck from getting a new hole as well as becoming Najenda's new best one-eyed friend. Unfortunately it also revealed his weakness to Esdese, who landed safely without any traps bothering her now.<p>

"So, it only works if it's touching the ground?" she asked in satisfied tone. "What a weak teigu!" she snarled as she started freezing ground around her. "No you don't!" he yelled launching rock spikes at her destination, only to be blocked with an ice wall.  
>"Seriously, if you're going to attack using sharp projectiles, then you should do it like this!" she proudly announced raising from her kneeling position and waving her right hand from left to right.<br>Four rows of roughly one hundred ice spikes appeared above her forming an arc of deadly projectiles aimed straight at his kneeling, worn out body.  
>She wasn't even bit tired while he was on his last legs. Gaea's Rod was a powerful teigu, but unlike Demon's Extract it didn't give it's user any extra stamina, power or speed to make use of that power. And his heavy armor took it's toll as well. There was only one last thing to do for the man.<p>

"I give up!" he dropped his rod into the ground and raised both of his hands.  
>"They weren't joking when they called you, empire's strongest, I did all I could with my strength, but clearly I'm no match!"<br>"Begging for mercy is a huge faux pas!." she replied with disgust.  
>"If you're begging now, what would be the point of taking you the the torture chamber!" she yelled aggravated at his display of weakness launching all the projectiles forward.<br>He reached for his teigu just in time, as a wall of sand shot up in front of him, easily reaching 6 meters of height, completely neutralizing all projectiles and falling back to the ground.  
>"You were holding out on me!" her voice took on ecstatic tone.<br>"Your demon extract truly makes you a monster. But who says you can't get a little help in slaying one?" he raised his head with confidence, as certain little glowing white octagon attached to his staff now providing his teigu with all the power he needed.

"SAND SEA!" he yelled as the ground all around almost instantaneously lost it's solid structure and became nothing more then flowing pool of sand particles. Everything around them in straight 100 meters radius no longer recalled solid earth.  
>Instead what she saw was a golden sea with waves smoothly rippling it's surface, washing city walls and buildings with it's pure golden essence, and a lone kneeling man holding his staff in the middle as if walking on the water. Frozen ground on which she stood has now become a tiny island hurled by it's waves. Her lips twisted in wicked grin. "Finally you started to fight back!" she shouted as excitement overwhelmed her.<p>

**1 hour earlier**

"Esdese is out of your league. She drunk all of Demon's Extract, her power is unrivaled", and you know it – the young trashy looking teigu user warned his senior.  
>"Yeah I know. Najenda got taken out in seconds. Even if I'm far stronger then her, I couldn't just kill thousands of people in mere seconds like Esdese did in the north. That's why I'll need your backup on this one."<br>"You mean our trump card?"  
>"No..that is one time use, and unless absolutely forced we should save it for better occasion. Especially you, given how you want a chat with her.<br>Support I will need from you, is that little battery of ours. It's for emergencies, but Esdese paying home visit to our base sure qualifies as one."  
>"Sure, you want me to boost your Atlas Rod with it?"<br>"That's the plan. But not immediately. Only if you see me raising my hands, signifying I can't do it alone. If you see that, give me a solid boost, don't spare the juice!" he requested.

"Will do chief!" Zenif complied.

**North Gate, now flooded with sand sea.**

"Well then let's see what that sand sea. of yours is good for!" Esdese shouted as she hurled another wave of roughly 400 projectiles at her target but this time from vary varied angles, ensuring no easy defense against them.  
>This time however no sand wall appeared. He didn't even made a slightest movement indicating willingness to dodge or deflect incoming onslaught. Just like that without a warning he just sunk into the sea completely avoiding and and all projectiles.<br>"Be sure to come out for air!" she shouted with sadistic tone as she started to go on the offense by freezing her small piece of frozen earth into a much larger one, eventually aiming to completely disable any movement from the sand, trapping the man inside.

"Worry about yourself." she heard familiar tone around dozen meters behind her. That wasn't the only sound irritating her ears. The sand sea. was viciously attacking borders of her frozen platform chipping away at the newly created ice, refusing to yield to her icy grip.  
>Still for the small moment the man sunk underneath it, there was no offense directed towards her and she managed to freeze just far and deep enough to reach solid ground with her frozen platform. She could've sworn the sand sea. was pretty shallow, judging from how fast her frost reached the bottom. Maybe 2 meters, maybe 3. Given the man's limited power it made sense. To create it on such a wide area, he needed to sacrifice something. Like it's depth.<p>

But time for thinking was not a commodity he intended to give her.  
>"Let's see how you handle 400 projectiles" a wicked grin appeared on his face with sharp blades of condensed sand now fired at her from every angle from inside sand sea., some aiming above her, to prevent escape by jumping.<br>"Maybe in next life", she created a larger ice pyramid around herself shielding her from all 400 sand missiles. Now she could fully focus on freezing this accursed sand trap with it's owner no top like a cherry on a cake. With her full power put into freezing the earth, Grazer's sand sea. was losing ground to an immobile and growing block of frozen sand.  
><em>'That old coot will soon learn how varied a man's screams can be when tortured in 126 different ways before the<em>_ir remains__ die' _her mind was already focusing on punishment she'd deal to this bothersome rat.

The energy from the kid's teigu wasn't limitless, and she was gaining upper hand now. It's now or never - he had to use the last ditch attack if he didn't plan on becoming the most heroic popsicle of Sha'naah.  
>Sand Wave! He shouted as the the ends of sand sea. that weren't frozen already, formed a huge wave homing in on Esdese's position ready to crush down on her frozen haven, tearing it and her to bits. The tremor of incoming mass of sand and huge moving shape did not escape her attention. With majority of sand around her frozen she no longer needed the pyramid's protection. She dispelled it and created an ice tower to elevate herself above the wave's level, jumping high at the last moment. Earlier such tactic would be suicidal with sudden sudden sand wall sure to block her path and toss her straight into the mouth of his sand trap, but now it was nothing more then block of frozen matter, no longer posing any threat.<p>

Her strength was still far from it's limits – she easily jumped over the wave which dispersed immediately after missing as it's creator didn't want to be buried under his own attack., and decided to finish this rat the proper way – by pounding him into the ground.

"HAGEL SPRUNG!"

The true form of her attack soon took shape – a monstrous block of ice 15 times larger then the miniature version used earlier. Equally beautiful as outrageous to behold, now aimed at a lone tired man, with no chance of escaping.  
>"I'll commend your tenacity, but it's time to die!" she shouted launching it forward...only to watch everything around her disappear as purple light shot up from below her enveloping both her and her huge block of ice.<br>Teigu Shambhala once again send her flying across the kingdom.

Back in Sha'naah a fragment of her absurdly large ice block did manage to slip past shambhala's teleportation field, but lost it's momentum and fell several meters off course not harming Najenda's superior.

"Phew, that was close. Sorry for cutting your power so abruptly, but it was nearing it's end." Grazer's savior spoke, Akame walking next to him.  
>"Normally I'd punch you for getting anywhere near a battlefield, since you're not a combatant, and under my protection, but this time...yeah, you saved my hide."<br>"We both did it. Without you there was no way she'd drop her attention for split second to get caught by it" Grazer's #1 support spoke.  
>"Just don't make me do that again, ok?" the general grumbled.<br>"Don't worry, next time I'll use our trump card. Unfortunately this time...well our energy reserve is empty. I used all that was left to make that teleportation circle absurdly large to make sure she'll get pulled in.  
>"Don't sweat it, people here owe us. One recharge to be exact" the seasoned soldier grinned.<br>"Thanks for keeping him safe, Akame", he added.  
>"I didn't do anything" she smiled. "But what about that teigu for general Najenda?"<br>"Don't worry, as soon as we get our rest and consult the situation here with revolutionary army we'll be on our way. By the way, kid, just where did you send her?" Grazer's started wondering.  
>Somewhere warm and nice...he smiled as they moved to the heart of the city to announce "suspension" of their sentence.<p>

**Unknown, yet strangely familiar island, evening.**

_'Someone here thinks he's funny'_ Esdese teeth chattered as she was trapped on the same island on far south eastern outskirts of empire as before, but this time without her beloved at side and not a sliver of hope that the portal that send her here would open in 12 hours..

Chapter End.

Next chapter –"Friend of my friend"


	7. Chapter 7 - Friend of my friend

Word from the author (that awesome guy who writes this;) :  
>Whew! Back after a bigger break. This chapter went outta control and is the biggest of all, roughly 7.2k words, so be prepared and enjoy: Comments and reviews always welcomed:)<p>

Chapter 7 - "Friend of my friend"

**Capitol, front entrance to Jaeger HQ, 7:30**

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny morning. Just like the day he has been officially pardoned by the empire in front of capitol's subjects. And just like then he was not happy about what was about to come.

After escaping Esdese's "training", consequences of which would be….most dire to his chastity, he came upon very grim realization.  
>Not only does he now have to go investigate a potential rebel army hideout in this very capitol as an officer of the empire, but Esdese just took off without him to take care of rebel base 50 miles to the south. It doesn't take vivid imagination to know what was about to happen there without anyone to keep her blood lust in check.<br>Subconsciously he felt that he was betraying the revolutionary army at least twice today. The army with which he sided of his own free will, army which gave him his friends in Night Raid and which indirectly saved his life through them.  
>His face was pretty much telling the whole story – he looked like he ate one of those fish wave brought with him, or was after seven day marathon of "training" with Esdese.<p>

"Not the best assignment, huh?" Julia asked with understanding in her voice, as they walked to the imperial castle gate.  
>"..Yeah. I wanted to catch corrupt nobles, and watch them hang for the shit they did to people, not hunt for guys with very same goal as mine."<br>"Goal may be the same, but the means are quite different, and with them the result." - she reminded him.  
>"You do have a point there.." he sighed.<br>"Still doesn't mean I have to like it."  
>"I'm not asking you to like it, but to understand the good that comes from it" she replied in caring tone.<br>"I'm all ears" he replied bitterly.  
>"It's our job to fix this empire from inside. But if we just let rebels do as they please inside the capitol, then regardless of honest intentions, we'll be seen as incompetent, or at least silently agreeing with revolutionaries, letting them have their way."<br>"I don't really care who makes it happen, as long as it happens" Tatsumi replied coldly.  
>"The 'who' part matters a lot" she admonished him.<br>"If it's the Jaegers, trust for the empire will be rebuilt, the corrupt put behind bars or hung, and things will improve for everyone, without needless bloodshed and chaos.  
>But if it's the revolutionaries, then soon they will start a war inside capitol. Naturally imperial guard will be dispatched to stop them and it'll be a bloodbath."<br>"Bigger then it already is?" the night he saw his friends tortured and murdered for fun flashed before his eyes.  
>"I believe you yourself know answer to that question best, else you wouldn't be in Jaegers." she stated calmly.<p>

As much as he hated giving her ground in this argument, she was right. If he had his five minutes with the Prime Minister it sure wouldn't be spent reading the list of his charges. More like making sure his insides will take months to clean up from every surface in ten meter radius.  
><em>'A sentiment shared by roughly <em>_99__% of __revolutionaries__ if __I__'m right' _he voiced his suspicion in his thoughts.

But what would happen after?  
>Caught, tried and executed Prime Minister would be replaced with a new one. "Little" pressure from Jaegers and Budou would ensure a decent person in the position and begin serious purge of corruption from the empire.<p>

Assassination by Night Raid however would ensure full scale military response and mass hunting of any actual or falsely suspected rebels. Esdese would never pass up on such opportunity for slaughter, and who knows what Budou is thinking.  
>If that's the case the change would only occur after rebel side literally eradicates the imperial one with countless deaths on both sides regardless of result. Deaths involving both his Night Raid friends as well as Jaeger members such as Wave or Julia...<br>Not to mention countless normal citizens who are just trying to make their ends meet, be it those in villages like his, or capitol's subjects who have no ties with corrupt nobility save being another target of their abuse.

"So basically, when Night Raid scores a hit, it means faster revolt, and when we score an arrest it means lesser chance of that happening?"  
>"Yes. Remember – few hot-heads excluded, for most of the people revolution is the last resort.<br>They don't do it because they want to, they do it because they believe there's no other choice."  
>"And is there any?" he snarled back at her.<br>"As the leader of Jaeger's investigations squad, you're the last person who should doubt that!" she gave him an angry stare.  
>"Haha, right, right, I'm sorry!" her answer hitting the mark made him startle a bit.<p>

Of course he wasn't that stupid. His worries came from the realization that his position is a power given him by Esdese, who was under prime minister's heel, and that fat bastard was the first person he wanted to see hanging down from the gallows.  
>But that's where general Budou comes in. Right now he just had to clench his teeth and live with the fact he's no longer a Night Raid assassin, but Jaeger investigations cell leader.<p>

"But I must admit I'm surprised you know so much about this stuff" he stated, true to his feelings.  
>"Well my father is a military officer you know, it runs in the family" she replied.<br>"What surprises me is how little thought you give to the fact that Night Raid is a branch of revolutionary army, and what that means" her statement wasn't most easy on his ears.  
>"Well, you know I never was part of any politics, military or whatever.<br>I was simply saved by Night Raid from torture and execution for fun at hands of some rotten nobles. For me the big picture was simple – scum like that needed to die. Other then that I was only focusing on doing my missions and getting stronger to see it through with my friends."  
>"But I already told you most of that the last time, right?"<br>"Yes..of course. Still it's good to know how important that was to you."  
>"But forget not. Night Raid is just a branch of revolutionary army, and their goal is not a quiet change, but armed takeover. Everything Night Raid does is in support of that purpose, else they'd be disowned by them a long time ago."<p>

"And right now to them you're a traitor. To both Night Raid and revolutionary army. Don't think they'll bother to see things your way and your reasons for being here."  
>"Night Raid are not like that!"<br>"Oh really? And the young girl who used the teigu that changes one's looks to kill enemies in cold blood pretending to be their friend?"  
>"Chelsea..."<br>" 'Chelsea...' for you. 'Cold blooded assassin not hesitating to use any underhanded trick in the book to make the kill' to her victims. You can't deny that fact, Kurome is a living proof."

"And right now you're a top priority target for both revolutionary army and Night Raid, Tatsumi.  
>So don't think for a second about such nonsense like trust, understanding, forgiveness or the like when faced with any of them. The second you do, you'll be their next kill. They are assassins, as I'm sure you know. They don't play fair and don't care."<br>"Like during our training, when Izabelle used her teigu?"  
>"Precisely that. It was underhanded, but expect nothing less from encounters with our enemies, and especially Night Raid."<br>"You're being pretty harsh today" he changed the subject.  
>"If it means I won't lose a precious comrade I can be harsher then Esdese herself" she replied in scary tone.<br>"Also should anything happen to you on our watch, she'd make sure emotional loss would be the least of our concerns." - that part sounding equally creepy as the first.  
>"Even when not around she can be scary" he commented with slight satisfaction in her voice.<p>

"Well she may be scary, but I'm cuter!" Julia suddenly relieved the tense atmosphere.  
>"Well I'm no judge of such things" he replied nervously, not wanting his dear life in danger should Esdese discover this part of their conversation.<br>"Oh but you are" she gave of a strange, confident smile.

"That's enough out of you on the matter, assistant." Tatsumi took on his first ever formal tone as they approached the castle's main gate.  
>Now, debrief me on the location of their hideout and any other details I should know before we embark".<p>

"Of course." she replied with equally unfitting official tone.  
>"We are to investigate alleged revolutionary army hideout, or more precisely a meeting place for their spies, and saboteurs.<br>We will begin with observation from a safe spot – many reports we received were fakes forged by revolutionary supporters to throw us off guard. Sadly some of the false reports were just empire's own citizens trying to do one another in for personal grudges or simple profit."  
>"Empire at it's finest..." he commented.<p>

"Fixing that will be our job. But for now, while this report looks legit, our first priority will be confirming it's truthfulness by observation. Once confirmed, we will move in and make arrests to interrogate the rebel spies, hopefully finding more of their hideouts and sending their superiors clear message that it's too early to start feeling at home on our watch."

"Ok, I see. So where is the safe house...and how will we observe them without getting noticed, given...this." he asked looking at their official golden-black Jaeger uniforms that could serve any purpose but blending in with the crowd.  
>"We will 'visit' one of our Jaeger outposts. From there we will move unnoticed to our stake out location, where we will conduct our investigation." Julia wrapped up the plan of action for the day.<p>

**Residential district's Jaeger outpost 1 hour later.**

The residential district was as gloomy as always for Tatsumi, however the new Jaeger outpost stood in stark contrast to it's surroundings.  
>Occupying full two stories building, it screamed "We're from north and we ain't afraid to show it!"<br>Out front two tall battle hardened soldiers in gray-white uniforms, faces showing energetic disposition and love for hard battle and hard drinking, though they would never dare to drink while on duty. The door to outpost itself suggested it's something else – large, heavy, made from high quality wood. It was nothing like those shabby imperial guard buildings where everything looked like made from few planks nailed together in a hurry.  
>Noticing Tatsumi and Julia guards immediately stood to attention and opened door for them.<br>"Thank you soldier" Tatsumi replied as they entered Jaeger...his...outpost completely baffled.  
>The very idea of being their commanding officer, and visiting Jaeger outposts as such, rather then a lost kid looking for directions or an assassin looking for information was shocking. But now not only did he just do that, he was treated with full respect worthy of a commanding officer.<br>_'This is something I will need time getting used to, but that's one __change__I__'m willing to __embrace__'_ he smiled to himself as he soaked in the sheer awesomeness of this situation.

So far he just felt like Esdese's boy toy or an imperial mascot at best. But this felt totally different. For the first time in a long time he didn't feel like anyone's...bitch. This time he was treated like a man. Man who leads others, is respected and does not have to think about some woman smacking him upside his head cause she misunderstood some trivial question about her weight.  
><em>'So this is the good side of the military. Damn, that's one reason that makes me glad I enrolled to Jaegers' <em>he thought as they walked down the small hall filled with chairs leading to two doors. The door on the far right lead to duty officer's room, guarded by one soldier in front. Guard's job was to ensure no one tries to peek or eavesdrop on confidential conversation between duty officer and the person presenting their report or complaint to him.  
>The other door at the end of the hall lead into Jaegers living room, which was the main hub to other facilities in the building such as the archive, dorm, toilets, kitchen, and training arena. Overall one could say this outpost was fit to hold two dozen soldiers.<br>After receiving the salute from duty officer's guard and moving into living room for his soldiers Tatsumi's eyes once again gazed in shock.

The living room felt a lot more like a pub then a soldier's quarters. Many danger beast trophies hanging on the walls, skins on the floor in front of burning fireplace, few benches and tables where soldiers were chewing the fat while chomping down breakfast that looked more like meat feast for hundred men, and drinking beer, and all that basked by morning sun's rays that shot across the whole room through 2 totally opened windows.  
>Tatsumi's jaw dropped, while Julia showed clearly aggravated face.<p>

"Superior officers in room!" she exclaimed authoritatively, bordering a yell of pure rage.

In mere seconds thumping of numerous feet, and noises of numerous chairs and plates meeting their demise for standing in the way of facing their superiors changed into naught but silence as the twelve men stood in perfect row in front of the two Jaegers giving a proper salute.

"What is this supposed to be?!" Julia nearly screamed her head off aggravated.  
>"Morning drinking parties!? Eating till you drop right before service?! And what's with using the fireplace when it's morning in the middle of the summer?! So glad you opened the windows wide open! Rebel assassins will be most thankful! Is this a Jaeger outpost, or an animal barn?!"<br>"Yes sir, It's a Jaeger outpost, sir!" they yelled in unison.  
><em>'Remind me to thank Esdese I'm her superior and not the other way around'<em> Tatsumi thought to himself.  
>"Easy Julia, I'll take it from here" he decided to rescue his newly found subordinates, before they'll share his fate of having a female superior make their live miserable.<br>"But seriously, I can understand all that...but why is the fireplace burning at morning in the middle of the summer?" he asked baffled at the sight.  
>"Captain Tatsumi, sir, it's for troop morale!" The first one from the left started his explanations.<br>"How so?" this matter piqued their young commander's interest. Along with the rank he never knew about.  
>"We're from the northern army under general Esdese. There it's always cold and we always gather near a fire when having a break. We don't need one here, but without it, it just felt dead, cold and foreign."<br>"Yes sir!" the remaining eleven shouted in unison.  
>"I see, well ok,I understand. No one likes being dragged off someplace strange and not being allowed anything that would keep him from going crazy" - their situation was anything but foreign to him, given his earlier abductions by Night Raid and Esdese.<br>"Thank you sir!" they shouted in unison.

This was one strange conversation. The twelve man weren't slouches. Each one of them was very well build, easily the value of two if not three regular imperial guard soldiers. And despite all the beer they drunk none of their eyes looked hazy. Yet here they were single file, taking orders from two kids that were above them in rank.  
>"Julia, were they debriefed about our coming?"<br>"I believe so, captain" she replied in calm manner.  
><em>'So everyone knew of my rank but me. Oh, Esdese is gonna get a piece of special Tatsumi tortures for that one!'<em> he thought to himself, with untypical evil grin spreading across his face.  
>"Ok then soldier, let's be sure. How will this outpost support today's mission?" Tatsumi asked hoping to get some answers he should have gotten long ago from Julia herself.<br>"We are to provide you with any support requested!" he replied.  
>"Very well then." Tatsumi was starting to understand what was going on.<p>

Esdese wasn't lying about making him the leader of investigations. That meant there would be no hand-holding for him, and the entire responsibility of conducting the mission rested with him. From the moment his group received the assignment, the how, why, where and when were his calls to make. No one would decide these things for him. That's what it meant to be a leader.  
>It felt burdensome to him, but at the same time it was an amazing breath of fresh air from the constant misfortunes in his life that could be summed up by "I did it cause the scary female would kill me otherwise". While buried deep in his subconsciousness, the bliss of actually taking charge and doing things his way, and not "as ordered" were in deep sync with primal voice in the back of his head yelling "Yeah baby!".<p>

"Ok then. For now return to your normal activities, and be ready to take orders in half an hour." he commanded.  
>"Yes sir!" they shouted in unison right before returning to what was left off their "breakfast".<br>"Julia, we'll need a plan for our stakeout. Let's discuss it near the fireplace." he whispered to her.  
>"Of course." she calmly replied.<p>

The only two issues with whole plan were getting to safe house unnoticed, and having soldiers from outposts ready to storm the place at moments call, while not emptying the whole outpost for it and staying out of sight until the trap is sprung.  
>Tatsumi's mind went into his first ever commander mode. Gone were his worries about interfering with revolutionary army, or what they'll think. Here and now he was the leader, the hunter. He was setting up a trap and preparing to catch his prey. Not thinking how to sneak past danger and strike unseen, but how to overtly storm the place and make sure no one escapes his grasp. For the first time since ages he felt the master of his life and not only his anymore.<br>Julia silently admired that side of him, and was greatly relieved seeing any signs of his hesitation disappear at moment's notice. She'd be sure not to remind him of it for the rest of the day. For before her no longer stood a former Night Raid assassin, but a Jaeger, a hunter in heart and mind, ready to track down enemies of the empire in broad daylight, and bring them in, rather then lurking under a rock in the shadows waiting for a kill as ordered by his shady superiors.

After some planning they agreed to get to safe house separately – he would use incursio's invisibility, while Julia would just don a hood and slowly make her way there through back alleys.

As for the dragnet, they would have soldiers on standby in outpost with two of them in civil clothing between outpost and the tavern waiting for signal from Julia. Signal would be a rare bird's chirp made with special whistle, sound known by those living in northern parts, but no one living in mainland let alone capitol. Four minutes later twenty soldiers would surround the place and make mass arrests.

**District area, Jaeger safe house across the street from "spirit of the world" tavern, 5 hours later**

Tatsumi and Julia have been on a stake out for nearly 5 hours straight. But obviously not being able to hear the conversations held inside the tavern killed most chances for a successful information gathering. Izabelle's skills would be invaluable here, but she wasn't here today. Best bet they had was to notice someone that is known for being revolutionary officer to come in, then they would at least arrest him and get some leads from there.

"So again, why was this lead considered any good?" - spoke Tatsumi in most annoyed voice, as 5 hours of sitting in a chair watching people across the street drink and talk were not his idea of "official Jaeger crime prevention mission".  
>"Isn't it obvious? Look how lively it is!" she replied his question, which contrary to what he said was popped for the first time since the beginning of observation.<br>"A, right. I forgot. Having successful business is a sure tell sign of rebellious activity. Any good imperial subject knows full well it's their civic duty to be miserable" - he snarled his response at this 'proof' of hers.  
>"Very funny. In this part of town tavern has no right to be successful like this, unless something is up" Julia continued their bickering.<br>"True, that guy drinking his third beer – he smiled for straight 3 seconds. Suspicious." - sarcasm in Tatsumi's voice wasn't planning to leave the room anytime soon.  
>"Taverns aren't a good business in this part of town. That's something Izabelle pointed out when we were reading the report."<p>

"How so?"  
>"There are generally three kinds of people in the capitol. Common people, soldiers and nobility. Nobility does not frequent such places, that's obvious. Soldiers and common people do, but they strongly dislike each other and never go to same places. Imperial guard is hated by the public due to abuses of power and doing nothing about the corruption at the top. As result people don't want to be near them out of fear of being jailed for nothing, or extorted out of money.<br>Imperial guards themselves on the other hand fear rebel spies and assassins hiding among common folk and also dislike mingling with the crowd after hours."

"Go on."  
>"As you can see this tavern is the people's place. But how is it that it's so full and lively when normal people struggle to get by, barely having money for one or two beers a week in most cases. While this place if full all the time. On top of that their prices aren't the lowest in the area and there is cheaper competition. Something is up with this place."<br>"Bit far-fetched, but I can see the point. Though I honestly expected something more solid then 'looks to good to be true' as grounds for picking this place for investigation."  
>"The obvious and solid looking reports were rebel fakes. Looking where one normally would not was the way to go in our eyes.<br>This report – it was a fake too, though not a rebel one. It was simply a case of competitor trying to sink their business. Normally it would go into garbage, but Izabelle noticed that while it's origin was shady, there is something off with tavern this successful in this part of the town. She did her homework learning about capitol and it's citizens. Most of us are still foreigners to the place and know little of local customs and realities of life."  
>"I see, she is quite shrewd" Tatsumi commented<br>"Or so I'll say if this stake out produces anything else then my frustration!" he started raging.  
>"How very uncaptain like behavior" she teased him.<br>"Grrrr..."

**10 minutes later**

"What the?!"  
>"What is it Julia, you see something?"<br>"Yeah, I just saw a woman wearing a hood and cape enter"  
>"Bit suspicious but she wouldn't be the first one in this city"<br>"While wearing something I can only call a black belt across her huge breasts and nothing else  
>above the waist?!"<br>_'! No doubt about it, it's Leone!__'_ his mind awakened.  
>"That is suspicious. But not enough to warrant springing our trap. I will use my invisibility and enter there myself to check her out..erm I mean to check if she's a rebel spy!" he cursed himself or unfortunate choice of words.<p>

"Be sure to tell me her measurements" she replied in teasing voice with strange smile across her face.

"And why didn't you turn invisible and go inside from the start?" she asked in annoyed tone.

"Sorry, I got only thirty minutes time before I run out of juice. Can you warrant the results if I used them immediately?"  
>"I see, that makes sense."<br>"You just wait in here for my return" he commanded with cheerful voice.  
>"Yes sir." she answered in formal voice.<br>_'Geeze, she sure is edgy today.'_ he thought to himself as he walked into basement of their hideout to don incursio with as little noise as possible.  
>Three minutes later he was already inside the tavern, invisible and behind Leone.<br>"I'm invisible so don't act weird, Leone" - he silently whispered into her ear as she was talking with two men at a table, probably revolutionary spies.  
>"Excuse me for a sec, I must check something in the back alley, back in fifteen minutes!" Leone winked at her company at the table, stood up and walked away.<p>

"She really should drop that back alley gambling of hers" they looked one at another rolling their eyes.

"Ugh...easy with the death hug, incursio can only protect me from so much!" Tatsumi yelped as Leone nearly hugged him into oblivion.  
>"You can't blame your big sister for worrying when you're in the grasp of that ice witch!" she said seemingly hugging air as he was still invisible.<br>"Hey hey, easy easy, I'm just fine, no one hurt me, I'm doing better then ever, even if she is a bit ..pushy with her advances".  
>"I hope you'll explain that better, seeing how you're a Jaeger now, and suspected traitor by the rebel army." she said as she released him, from her hold, but holding his hand with lionelle active to ensure he doesn't run away.<br>"No need to get nervous. I did not betray the cause, I simply found a better way of doing it."  
>"That's my Tatsumi!" short was his freedom from her iron hug.<br>"Now tell your big sister all about it!" she happily requested still looking like first class weirdo to anyone who would see her right now.  
>"Ok but we have little time, I'm on stake out here and not alone. If I don't show up soon this place will turn into full scale military operation zone."<br>"Ok then, let's be brief then."

In roughly four minutes he explained to her that he learned about Budou wanting to deal with Prime Minister himself, and how he accepted Esdese's offer to join the Jaegers so he would live to tell tale about it.  
>Leone on the other hand filled him about Najenda covering for him with fake double agent story and how that information about Budou might save his rear from rebel army assassination.<p>

"Still however, this is just rumors. We'll need something more solid to make it happen, Tatsumi.  
>I'll deliver the news to Najenda, but in few days time you can expect a visit by all of us, and better have something more concrete ready by then. Revolutionary army wants me to kill my favorite little brother unless he proves he's no traitor to them." she spoke with sadness in her voice.<p>

"I'll do what I can, but be warned, and that goes for Najenda as well, " he started with serious tone.  
>"The new Jaegers are no joke, and I myself have chosen the path I described – to change the empire from inside using Budou's help.<br>Night Raid's goal and mine are the same – to cleanse this empire of corruption, a.s.a.p.  
>But our methods and the end results are vastly different and on that I'm willing to take Night Raid on, if you guys choose to fight us."<br>"What are you saying you idiot, you want us to kill you just because that ice witch sold you some crap about empire being reformable without revolutionary army?  
>If it was, there would never be a need for either the revolution or Night Raid, and given how you joined us you know this best!"<br>"Things are different now. And by that I mean myself. I'm here now, with strong power backing me up and I'm willing to do what's necessary. From what I heard Night Raid's job would be done a long time ago by Budou himself had it not been for the revolution and his first priority being it over prime minister.  
>If revolutionary army were to back off a bit, you'd see Honest in jail or handing down the gallows.<br>No needless bloodshed, no armies slaughtering each other and burning everything in their path."  
>"You always were too gullible, Tatsumi, I know that best" she replied in sad tone.<br>"But I'm the last person who would take away your chance to make your dreams come true, and Night Raid is not giving up on you either.  
>As I said before, do the best you can to make that plan of yours a reality, as in very near future we will come and check on you.<br>Unless a miracle happens, you'll have to admit defeat and pick a side. For our sake I hope you'll see the truth at that time. One job I could not swallow is killing you" she said crying.  
>"You'll need to have little more faith in me" he replied with unseen confidence, completely ignoring her tears.<p>

"Now we're almost out of time, so let's both help each other out a bit here today.  
>Future is the future, but here and now we're still friends" he replied in most cheerful manner.<p>

"Sure, for old time's sake!" she pulled her self together.  
>"What you need me to do?"<p>

**one minute later Jaeger safe house.**

Tatsumi entered the house from the back, dispelling incursio and approaching angry Julia at the window.

"I was this close to calling our soldiers you idiot! I was worried sick!"  
>"Hey I didn't get a say in what she'd do next! I just followed her where she went!" - <em>'so far so good'<em>, nothing but truth coming from his mouth.  
>"So? Any lead on who she is?" she inquired.<br>"Leone of Night Raid, my former comrade."  
>"If that's the case, then did you just pursue her, or have you made contact with her?"<br>"If I made contact you'd see a lot of damaged property around that tavern. She's in there with some contacts, figured it's wiser to wait for backup."  
>"You're starting to think like a proper leader, Captain." Julia smiled.<br>"Yeah, if it's just me vs her it's 50-50 on who wins. And I didn't come here today to play such odds, only to succeed in driving revolutionaries away for some time, so we can do our work in peace."

"You need our soldiers and my assistance then?"  
>"Soldiers, yes. Tavern might be full or rebel supporters."<br>"As for your assistance, a long ranged backup might be great, but only when I'm in a pinch and from outside.  
>At close range you'd be easy picking for her. Also two on one would make everyone think we're weaker then Night Raid and can't face them in an honest fight. Last thing we need is publicity like that."<br>"Understood, I'll just stay in here and intervene only when necessary."

She then blew her bird song whistle giving their soldiers signal to begin the operation.  
>Two minutes later Tatsumi entered through front door in his official attire.<p>

"Leone of Night Raid, I know you're here. In the name of the empire and the Jaegers, surrender peacefully and come with me, or face your execution here and now!" he yelled plunging his sword into the ground.  
>"Cocky words for a little backstabbing brat" she raised from her chair throwing her hood off, and activating lionelle.<br>"But at least you saved me the trouble of looking for your smarmy ass!"  
>"Everyone who values their life get out! You'll only die needlessly if you meddle in a fight of two teigu users!" She yelled out.<p>

"Don't worry about them. They'll be keeping you company in our holding cells!" he yelled activating incursio, blocking the doorway, neunte in his hand, to further the intimidation.  
>"Only thing keeping me company will be memories of your torn to shreds traitor corpse!" she lunged at him with full speed.<p>

"Impalement it is!" he yelled as he thrusted forward with neunte's tip aimed at her abdomen.

"Too cocky, brat!" she quickly dropped to the floor, avoiding the spears thrust, only to quickly raise up and deliver a crushing punch to his gut, sending him into the ceiling and painfully back to the floor.

Meanwhile tavern's patrons started taking the opportunity and made their way to the exit, be it the now temporary free front door, or the rear exit behind the bar.

"OORAAAH!" she continued her assault trying to drive full powered punch into the head of laying Tatsumi.  
>But it only hit air as he quickly rolled to the side and jumped back to his feet.<br>"Like that could put me outta business!" he yelled deciding to fight fire with fire and engage in a fist fight.  
>He tried to quickly deliver an uppercut to Leone to return the favor, but she was on her guard and just took a step backward and then tackled him hard.<br>But this was Incursio clad Tatsumi, not some weak defenseless boy. He planted his left foot backwards and withstood Leone's charge, responding with powerful and equally painful knee to her ribcage.  
>"Ugh!" she coughed up some blood as pain shot up her chest.<br>"It's one thing to crush a normal person with those huge paws of yours. But it's another if opponent is equally strong and knows how to land a blow!" he yelled with satisfaction.  
>"Don't worry about me!" - she grabbed his right leg that was planted in her ribcage and pulled back on it knocking him out of balance.<br>She then grabbed it with both hands and as he wound up on the floor, she took a half swing tossing his helpless body into the bar counter.  
>Splinters flew and many fine beverages ended up as nothing more then stains on the floor but was the least of his concerns at the moment. She was already in mid air ready to deliver a flying punch to his slightly dazed body.<br>"Like hell!" he delivered a double kick from his lying position in attempt to push her away.  
>It worked to a degree. It was too obvious, and Leone managed to cover her face before landing into it, only to receive the blow to her guard, sending her backwards solid few meters, but not doing any serious damage.<br>Tatsumi quickly got up and decided to pull a Wave on her – he jumped up high and dropped on her with a jump kick, similar to the one that plunged him into a river during his first escape from Esdese's clutches.  
>"Who taught you that stupid move?!" she yelled easily intercepting his foot and swinging him like a hammer once more, only this time to send him flying out the window.<br>_'Ugh Wave. The hell. Even when you're not here you look uncool with such easy to read move set. Then again...was I the only one caught by it?!'_ injuries to his pride being far greater then few bruises from rough landing on the street.  
>By now the patrons already made their escape, or so they thought, as the whole tavern was already surrounded by his soldiers making arrests on would be escapees.<br>Leone wasn't blind to the picture either. The soldiers were already here and they didn't look like your average single-punch imperial schmucks you see on the street everyday. This party was getting too crowded. Leone decided it's time to hightail outta there.

Rather then jumping at Tatsumi who was fully expecting her charge, she run into the back of the establishment and used a hidden trap door leading to a tunnel, connected to another house in the city, near the eastern gate.

Seeing her run off Tatsumi begun the pursuit, charging through the tavern towards back door, thinking she was trying to sneak out the back, and wanting to ensure safety of his soldiers covering that escape route. But she wasn't there. Soldiers were fine, neither did he or they see anyone jumping across the rooftops.  
>Some time later they found the trapdoor, but with Leone's agility and enhanced senses he knew it was a lost cause.<br>_'All went according to the plan' _he thought, as he explored the tunnel, to prevent it's future usage by the rebels, knowing full well Leone was already far away.  
><em>'Even if our little performance was not the best, <em>_the Jaegers__ still shut the place down and caught some rebels to prove we mean business'_.  
>At this moment he didn't feel much guilt. He was doing the thing he himself wanted – hampered revolutionary army's progress, as doing so provided him with more time to get to Budou, and repair things in time to prevent capitol from turning into a regular war zone.<p>

After investigating the tunnel and returning to Julia he started scolding her for letting Leone get away.

"I simply followed your orders – interfere only if you're in a pinch. And your life was in no discernible danger during her getaway." she replied calmly with no hint of stress in her voice whatsoever.

"Fine, whatever." he did his best to pretend genuine dissatisfaction, while obviously he was extremely thankful for Julia's slip up.  
>The apprehended tavern patrons were taken to Jaeger outpost for identification, from where they would either be released if proven innocent or insignificant to the investigation, or send to Jaeger HQ holding cells for further interrogation if deemed rebel collaborators. At any rate this was not Tatsumi's headache for the next day or two.<p>

He was sure to stop by at the outpost though, to commend his soldiers for a job well done and get something decent to eat, seeing their "breakfasts" were right up his alley.  
>After socializing with his men, he and Julia returned to Jaeger HQ without any issues.<p>

**Jaeger HQ, 17:00**

"Boy that was a tiresome day – I'm gonna hit the showers now, Julia."  
>"Need your back scrubbed?" she teased<br>"Stop joking around and get busy with paperwork!" he yelled, just wanting some time alone after this maelstrom of emotions after his first successful mission..for the empire.  
>"Ok, ok, I trust you won't do anything weird while I'm not watching you." she smiled strangely walking off.<br>"Just keep walking and don't look back!" her angry superior's voice 'saw' her off as she turned into another hallway leading to the Jaeger bureau section of the complex.  
>'I must admit Tatsumi, you do not cease to surprise me' she thought as white smoke engulfed her body revealing long golden hair, eyes and curved shapes.<br>'I wanted to see if you can be trusted, or are you still a Night Raid, instead I find out the one you're loyal to...is your own heart.  
>That's a very dangerous allegiance to have in this empire..and even more dangerous one when seen by a woman' she thought to herself, smiling.<p>

'But I'm glad you're starting to see the folly of revolution and that you started making your own decisions, rather then being their puppet'.  
>"Hey, I believe I'm due for some explaining here!" a cute green haired archer demanded answers with her frustrated brown eyes looking up from behind her round glasses.<p>

"Why did you switch our looks and replaced me today, and gave me a signal to not snipe my target?"  
>"I replaced you for security reasons. With your teigu you can support us even from another part of capitol, as long a suitable snipe spot was provided. As long as 'Julia' was with Tatsumi, and 'Izabelle' with Kurome we did not defy Esdese's orders while increasing captain's safety" she replied.<p>

"As for holding fire, it was captain's decision and I stood by it. He was not outmatched in this battle. Taking the risk of missing the target and hitting him instead in that wild brawl could only be justified by saving him from sure deathblow, and such event did not take place." - she wrapped that part up.  
>"I'm disappointed that you underestimate my abilities so. Next time have more faith in my skill." Julia replied with clear anger in her voice.<br>"And as for him, I'm gonna have a word with that numskull!" she pouted, ready to give Tatsumi a piece of her mind for putting himself in needless danger like this.  
>"No, you won't." Izabelle cut her short.<br>"You may be similar in age, but he is your superior, and it is not your place to question his tactics. Also for the sake of keeping him safe we should not talk too much about today's events, unless he is to discover our little setup.  
>Fooling your friends is the best way to fool your enemies as well, and as long as they find me instead of you, they will not be able to take out our best sniper so easily, keeping us safe from ranged cheap shots."<p>

_'Oh now I'm the best sniper, huh?'_  
>"Yes ma'am." Julia obliged with visible disapproval.<p>

_'__I'm s__orry Julia, but if we killed her today, he would most likely turn to the enemy or break down and become easy picking for them. Letting him have his way solidified his commitment to our side and __purged__ much of needless guilt that could be used against him __in near future__'_ Izabelle apologized to her in thoughts, remembering the conversation between Tatsumi and Leone she eavesdropped in the alley, while disguised as a stray cat.  
>This also being the true reason why the Jaeger outpost forces appeared when they did and not four minutes after Leone left the tavern to talk with Tatsumi in the back alley.<p>

_'Also we publicly drove off a Night Raid member in one on one fight, and secured valuable rebel agents for interrogation - it's not half bad for his first time'. _She concluded in her mind preparing her defense when Esdese asks them about escaped Night Raid member.  
>"Now let me tell you what 'you' did today, so our little secret stays secret". Izabelle returned to Julia and their little 'switch'.<br>She then filled Julia in on all the events and conversations she had with Tatsumi, keeping the back alley meeting however a secret.

**Imperial Castle, prime minister's chambers**

"Enter."

"I'm here as per your instructions." - a large, heavily armored man in his forties with face that showed little emotion save for extreme sternness walked into the room.  
>"Ah yes, general, pleased to have you here. Some wine perhaps?"<br>"Get to the point, prime minister" - the great general spoke with contempt in his voice.  
>"It seems general Esdese has encountered some...difficulties, and will be back in few days time.<br>During that period I would like you to oversee her Jaegers and ensure their talents are not wasted for the time being."  
>"Very well. Would that be all?"<br>"Just one small matter. Do check on our 'amnesty program' member. I would like to be sure he's not trying to pull anything stupid. And stay alert – our enemies know full well that Esdese is missing for the time, they will try to make the best of it, like good flies on their way to spider's net."  
>"Any enemies of the empire will be properly dealt with." the large man replied, leaving Prime Minster's chambers.<p>

Chapter end

Next chapter - "Silence before the storm"


	8. Chapter 8 - Silence before the storm

Author's notes: Well erm...what can I say...another monster of a chapter, and once again full of dialogue. I know it's bit much, but I can't help it – I want to flesh out the characters well. Today on the plate you get a bit of inside look on Zenif's abilities, lots of Budou, Izabelle, a bit of spotlight for Jack Bellows (the only OC I have not yet introduced properly) and first interaction between Budou and Tatsumi after his capture as MC tries to build a bridge of trust between him and the great general. Enjoy!

Chapter 8 - "Silence before the storm"

**Desert City of Sha'naah, evening after Esdese's assault**

While the rest of the land was focused on surviving another day under empire's doubtful grace, the desert city was ablaze with festive atmosphere, it's citizens focused on singing, food and drinks.

This one special night, revolutionaries could forget about fear, distrust, insecurity, or hardships of their fight. For today one of the greatest victories in history of revolution was made a reality. A city marked by the empire for total annihilation has opposed and pushed back the symbol of empire's might.  
>Their hearts were filled with courage, joy and unwavering faith in victory, while their stomaches with wine, roasted meat, exotic fruit and many other gifts for the palate that the local merchants offered for the celebration.<p>

Defeating Esdese not only spelled survival of the rebellion's most forward base. It also meant unifying people that until that moment were divided, or at least wary of each other. Merchants who tried to maintain picture of neutrality, while supporting rebels from the shadow, many imperial spies stationed there, rebel soldiers thinking of defecting – all those people dropped their agendas the moment Esdese proclaimed death upon them all in the name of the empire regardless of their allegiance, social standing or past achievements.

The one who ripped the executioner's blade from her hand and shoved it down her throat was a revolutionary general, and not a single soul in the city did not know to whom they owed their life that night, and on whose side they will stand in the coming conflict.

Much as he hated it, Grazer was now a hero of the revolution, and everyone knew his name and rank. Akame not being an exception. He was supposed to be a nobody to most of the world, to avoid imperial spies getting a lead on him, and more so on Zenif, whom he protected.  
>Instead he wound up being the center of attention. But given the circumstances it was a sacrifice worth making.<p>

At least no one found out about his protégé, nor that it was him who really saved the day. For now he had no choice, but to have Akame fill in his shoes and guard ultimate teigu wielder, as the attention he himself was getting was the last thing revolution's secret weapon needed.

"Rotten old bastard could at least bring me some of that meat their having" Zenif grumbled, his eyebrows twitching, and face starting to take on savage look of a starved predator.  
>"I hate him." Akame seconded nearly shedding tears at the thought of all that meat the two of them weren't getting.<br>"Save a city, get locked up in a house at it's edge - 'For your protection'" he snarled, warping his voice into caricature of Grazer's during the quote to amplify his "gratitude" for his "reward".  
>"But at least you're not hurt, that's good." Akame pointed out with warm smile.<br>"Yeah, but not hurt and filled with good food and drinks sounds like the better deal to me" he replied in nagging tone.

The 'better deal' snapped her memory back to the moment he used two teigu at once before her very eyes. Or how he could effortlessly order Susanoo right before they left their base. This was not normal. In all her days as assassin she faced many teigu users, but none having ability to use freely anything else save their own, single teigu.  
>"...When we moved to this city, you used two teigu at once, right? How is that possible? Especially with the one you already have?" She pointed at his backpack, her curiosity temporarily subduing her hunger.<br>"Well that's my little special ability." he winked at her with a wide smile on his face.  
>"What?" her eyes blinked, her expression showing undivided attention.<br>"As the one chosen by Phoenix Forge I am tasked with testing teigu after their repairs or construction among other responsibilities.  
>As great as it is, even an ultimate teigu requires some human supervision to judge if the results of it's operation are as expected and don't need some...adjustments."<br>"Uhm..." she nodded clearly waiting for rest of his story.  
>"But how can one do any of that if a teigu starts throwing fits about compatibility the moment I try to see if it functions properly?<br>Obviously such situation would be just plain ridiculous!  
>And that's why, as Phoenix forge user I am granted maximum compatibility with all of the teigu, regardless of my natural predispositions and them having an owner or not."<br>"That's great!." she let out a big smile  
>"Of course! Remember that fact! I'm great!" he shouted as he raised his head and thrusted his chest forward.<br>Akame smiled a bit giving him a warm look.  
>"Maximum compatibility means smallest possible strain when using a teigu, both mental and physical, something that matters a lot for someone as weak as me."<br>"Yhm."  
>"However the teigu I used yesterday, that white crystal – it's an energy storing type teigu. I didn't use my energy up, it gave stored energy to shambhala and later to general's atlas rod. Using that one for this purpose is not straining at all."<br>"So you could use Murasame with ease too, right?"  
>"Well...not really."<br>"Huh?"  
>"It's easy to wield, and does not consume much energy, so yeah. It won't reject me either because of my maximum compatibility. But my natural skills in combat are zero and no teigu can fix that. I could swing it, sure, but I don't know anything about fencing."<p>

"I see." she nodded.  
>Same for most teigu – I'm simply "cheating my way in". I still usually lack the natural talents, experience and power needed to wield them proficiently like their original owners.<br>"Want to work on that part then?" she smiled offering her hand.  
>"Well for the power part I got my little crystal here" he patted pocket on his jacket."<br>"Unfortunately as for training my combat skills and body that's not possible" he made an annoyed look, slumping down a bit.

"How so?" her face took on puzzled look.  
>"That is a story for another boring night" he winked at her before both of their stomaches reminded them about the object of their mutual loathing, as they pulled out their dried beef jerky and drunk their tea – best commodities the ones under "revolutionary special protection program" could count on this night...<p>

**The next day, imperial capitol, 6:30 am.**

"Finally" - the large, armor clad man thought as he got up from behind his desk and started making his way to the opposite section of the castle. The section where general Esdese and Jaegers were stationed.  
>The firm stance, heavy steps and a face that's even more stern then usual, made clear for everyone who saw him, this was a bad time to be bothering him. He wasn't on his way to perform his duty, but to "deal with a threat".<br>Seems everyone but himself could feel and hear the tension in the air and static electricity discharging all around him.  
>General himself however, while certainly treating Jaegers and Esdese as potential threat to the empire was more concerned about how to tackle the problem, then thinking of direct confrontation.<p>

For before him stood one thing any strategist, soldier and even a simple human being fears at his core – the unknown.  
>Esdese and her group were a mystery to this man. While performing her duties to the empire flawlessly, it was clear empire's strongest was not driven by care for empire's subjects, public safety or love for peace. She was carnage incarnate, with doubtful morals if any, that seemed to have taken the position of general simply out of opportunity for slaughter, rather then any beneficial cause.<br>On top of all, the one that discovered and promoted her to position was that fat weasel Honest. That alone was reason enough to be wary of her.

And that's exactly the approach he was taking so far. If not for that, Honest would rot in a cell awaiting his execution a long time ago. However right now the greasy old bastard had emperor in palm of his fat hand, and most of all general Esdese on his side. Any attempt from Budou to bring prime minister to justice, or remove the puppet emperor from power until he is truly fit to rule, would most likely mean a head on battle with her, quite possibly involving a clash of their armies as well.  
>Rebels could not ask for a better gift, it would be like rolling out a red carpet showered with rose petals straight to the throne room. Even if Budou were to win, the casualties would be too great to repel rebel invasion. And if Esdese won their fight then it wouldn't matter anymore – rebels razing capitol to the ground, or prime minister turning the empire into living hell – both equally horrid options.<p>

What he could do at the moment is simply clench his teeth and declare war on revolutionary army – eliminating one enemy at a time. After crushing them, dealing with the prime minister and Esdese if necessary could yield meaningful results for the future of the empire.

And then there were the Jaegers. Second greatest power in empire's when it came to teigu users if accounted as whole, whose loyalties were unknown. Were they loyal to her? The prime minister? Child emperor? Or the subjects of empire and their future?  
>They weren't trained soldiers with firm morales and battle code etched in their bodies and souls. Instead what he had here is a total mix of people from different backgrounds, having different values and purposes. From navy officers to imperial assassin and even former Night Raid.<br>A group he would never think of creating without proper background checks and clean slate in each case. What was that woman thinking? Was it not bad enough with those psychos from Wild Hunt he had to tolerate?!

Who knew if Jaegers weren't an even worse can of worms, that he now had to open and diffuse. And just like with Wild Hunt, they were part of imperial military, only this time protected by authority of Esdese. He could use neither force, nor his rank to disband them, should his worst fears come true.  
>This matter required patience, calm thinking and good interpersonal skills to find out the truth and take necessary steps without resorting to forceful methods. In short it required anyone but him. But he was the only one who both saw the danger and could do anything about it. Luckily while lacking in charm, he knew the meaning of preparation, and he was on his way to profit on that trait.<p>

**Jaeger Dining hall, 7:00 am**

While it was unknown if she would show up today, as Esdese's campaigns tended to last in most cases - partly due to being far away, and largely due to her taking sweet time with her .."fun", the Jaegers would as always gather at 7 am in the dining hall awaiting her arrival.

Should she not arrive, Jack Bellows and Tatsumi were the two top ranked members, with Jack being in charge of combat training and Jaeger patrols, while Tatsumi dealing with investigations, and all matters related to them.

This chain of command however needed not to be tested this day, as at 7:00am sharp the door to the dining hall opened revealing a..very unfamiliar figure.  
>An imposing hulking man in his forties, clad in metallic armor, and giant iron shoulder pads with stern and menacing face of war – veteran and even his short hairstyle with two long horn like appendages and eyebrows looking like zapped by lightning has entered the room without any signs of a doubt or this being a mistake.<p>

"General Budou!" Wave, Isabelle, Jack and Julia rose from their seats giving a proper salute, with Kurome just calmly observing the man from hers and Tatsumi's all senses going on full alert as he encompassed with his eyes the man he so badly wanted to meet, but instinctively treated as enemy after their last encounter.

"I see assassins aren't taught any manners!" he sneered at both Tatsumi and Kurome, and their lack of proper salute.  
>"I apologize sir!" Tatsumi quickly rose and gave off a salute, not before taking an all too obvious look at Wave to see how to do one. Kurome did much the same, only without any word and less flimsy, but Budou's attention was clearly focused on Tatsumi, not her.<p>

"Hmph. I guess neither Night Raid nor Esdese teach their subordinates proper military protocol." He snarled.  
>"At ease." he commanded to all as he took a sit in Esdese's chair.<p>

"I'll get straight to the point.  
>For the duration of general Esdese's absence I'll be your superior officer by order of the prime minister.<br>It is my job to insure you people are actually useful to the empire, and not just loafing around the castle starting fights", he's remark clearly pointed at Wave, though a faint smile could be seen on his face when mentioning that part.  
>First, we will begin with the interview. I need to know more about each one of you to determine your fitness for tasks that I have prepared for you."<br>"General Budou, I believe we already have assigned tasks" Jack intervened.  
>I know of them, but my priorities are different then those of Esdese, and with her absent the top priority is the security of imperial castle and capitol, not playing detective in back alleys" he retorted.<p>

"Now if there are no further questions, I will begin interviewing in my quarters in 30 minutes. You are to be there on time, all of you."

**7:40 royal guard quarters, hallway in front of general Budou's office.**

Their new superior didn't seem to care much for secretaries or aids, as he himself opened the door to his office and personally started calling Jaeger members by name for their interview. Normally that would not be the case, but this time secrecy was of most importance to the man and the only eyes and ears needed were his and those of the interviewed person.

"Attanter, Izabelle!" - he shouted.  
>She quickly got up and entered opened door as he quickly slammed them shut and they proceeded to the inner part of his office.<br>His office left no doubts about his position in the military – spanning multiple rooms, full of maps, history books, ancient armors and weapons on the walls as well as typical over the top wall and ceiling decorations with chandeliers more appropriate for a ball room, then general's workspace. The walk to his own personal office was a bit longer then expected, leading through the currently vacant reception, personal library, and strategy meetings room judging from all the maps of empire some with colored pins in them. Clearly he chose the room that would guarantee furthest distance from the hallway and curious ears of other Jaegers.

**Izabelle's interview**

"Well, my bad feelings about this group weren't completely dispelled this morning, but it's you whom I sent to get me some real information, so let's hear it." - he started his conversation bluntly.  
>"As you wish father, you'll find this information very interesting I believe" - she passed him a full report roughly 300 pages thick.<br>"I didn't call you here to join the book club, only to hear the story from you" he shoved the report aside preferring eye to eye contact.  
>"I wouldn't have it any other way" she confidently smiled at him.<br>"This is just in case your memory becomes a bit fuzzy" she added pointing at the report.

"Well, let's get to it then. What am I dealing with here? Are they worse menace then Wild Hunt? What of the Night Raid member? What is that woman's agenda anyway? And what are your opinions on each member of this happy little ..bunch?" - he inquired.

"While the previous iteration of Jaegers was quite the disturbing collection of individuals, the current members seem to be untypicaly...sane and collected for a group which serves that woman." she begun her report.  
>I think it's safe to say they are not a walking time bomb like some of the previous members or Wild Hunt.<p>

"That's a relief, though I doubt the picture is that pretty" he retorted.  
>"You mean Tatsumi, the former Night Raid member, yes?"<br>"Of course! Who else could I mean!" he bellowed forgetting for a second the secrecy of their meeting.  
>"I thought you wanted to keep this conversation a secret", she replied in silent tone giving him an icy stare.<br>"Ugh.. resume your report."  
>"Tatsumi is by far both your biggest threat and best ally you can find in there."<br>"...Are you feeling all right? Night Raid member being my ally is preposterous enough, not to mention the 'best' part."  
>"Just please listen to the end, and keep your short fuse in check, father" she scolded him with a face that made him startle, mainly because it was a clear reflection of the one his wife all too often sported followed by lengthy preaching that made Esdese's tortures look like pillow fights in comparison.<br>"..Ygh..." his teeth clenched.  
>"Tatsumi is a very..special case within Jaegers. On the surface he looks like a rat that abandoned sinking ship for a chance to live, but in reality he is fiercely loyal to his own goal – of purging the empire from it's corruption.<br>"So I'm to give him a hug for being a murderer with a noble cause?" he scoffed.  
>"You're forgetting whom you're talking about." she interjected.<br>"Odd, I was about to say the same thing!" he slammed his hands on the desk, barely withstanding the power of the man.  
>"Just let me finish!" she yelled in manner unfitting of soldier addressing his superior.<br>"Hmph." he rested his chin against the opened palm of his huge hand clearly displeased with the topic of conversation.

"We're talking here about a young village boy, who has no knowledge of military, politics or history. Only knowledge of empire he gained was first hand experience of family of nobles who lured people like him into a twisted game of torture and execution for their own amusement".  
>"...Can't deny this empire rots more everyday." he scoffed.<br>"He was to be their next 'plaything' had Night Raid not appeared that night and killed them before they killed him."

"So you're saying Night Raiders aren't professionals, but volunteers?" he suddenly snapped out of his indifferent attitude.  
>"Yes, they're not like imperial assassins. Seems most of them join Night Raid after being terribly wronged by our side, or lured in by breasts."<br>"B-bre...WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" he's face turned beet red at the profanity his ears just heard.  
>"It's true father, ridiculous as it sounds. I saw one of their female members yesterday during our raid on a rebel hideout. Save for a scanty piece of black ...ribbon out of lack of better term, wrapped around her ...chest, she was wearing nothing that would cover any area above her waist, asides a pair of tacked on cat ears.<br>I've seen brothels in shadier parts of the city advertise with more decency then those assassins." she summed up her observation.  
>"Ekhum" general coughed trying to keep a stern face in face of such...ludicrous report.<br>If that wasn't enough she also had a clear gambling problem.  
>"So basically they're using youth to do their dirty work, offering them chance at vengeance and using every other incentive no matter how low?"<br>"For all I've seen, that seems to be the case."

"All right, assuming with this knowledge we can tag the boy as more misguided then evil...why is he so important and what makes you believe he won't betray us, especially after what happened to his comrade?"  
>"As for his importance - he is the sole love interest of general Esdese. And as far as my female intuition tells me, this is not a fleeting summer love but a serious feeling on her side."<br>"So you're saying we should get in his good graces to befriend her? That train of thought is unworthy of imperial officer!"  
>"That is not what I meant, just sit there and listen."<br>"What I am saying, is that there are only two people I know of who can really influence her into doing something that is not in line with her natural predatory nature.  
>First person is the prime minister, and we both know this is what makes our situation...hard.<br>The other is that boy – Tatsumi."

"I see."

"More over he seems to be a total opposite of her. If I were to sum it up shortly – she is loyal to the empire, but has no interest in things like protecting the weak, guiding the people and ensuring their safety. She'll do it if ordered, but her blood thirsty nature will demand bloodshed from her sooner or later.  
>He is the total reverse of that – he will not hold loyalty to any side, save for his own believes. Which are precisely the values she lacks. He wants corruption cleansed and people living safe from current prime minister's tyranny, with no concern about how or who does it, as long as the goal is achieved. This seems to be his main driving force now, above loyalty to Night Raid and above vengeance for his fallen comrade. Which he would exact on Wild Hunt and not us, anyway.<br>He does however despise shedding blood of innocents and will rebel if his superior is causing too much of it for no justifiable reason.  
>Precisely the reason why I successfully convinced him to stay on our side, after explaining the atrocities that the revolution brings, and why he is not too smitten with Esdese."<p>

"Hmm...he is headstrong, I'll give him that" Budou reflected on their last "meeting" when he knocked him out.  
>"More over he still has connections with Night Raid, which could be to our advantage."<br>"WHAT? Then he must be apprehended immediately, a Night Raid member is running loose in imperial castle! The man shot up from his chair activating adremmelech.  
>"You will sit and do no such folly" she hissed with murder intent comparable to Esdese's fury.<br>"I said clearly he has **c-o-n-t-a-c-t **with them, but that's all. He is no longer under their control.  
>I didn't change my name, cut family ties for five years and risked being exposed by Esdese or Prime Minister, so you can just "do the usual" and kill our best chance of pacifying both Night Raid and Esdese with minimum losses" she finished her point, making clear, that refusal to accept it meant combat there and now.<p>

"And on what grounds do you believe he will not do what Night Raid always does?"

"I have spied on him both during his private time with Esdese, as risky as it was , and during a meeting with that half naked Night Raid member during our stake out before raiding the rebel hideout.  
>When alone with Esdese not once did he mention assassinating the emperor, nor asking her to help him in anyway to get near him or Honest for that matter.<br>"That just proves he's not as stupid as to spout such things to empire's most fearsome general."  
>Possible. But then there's the secret meeting with Night Raid member he had yesterday in back alley with him being invisible the whole time. I believe he had not reason to be careful what he says then, as he was sure no one was around to see or hear him then.<p>

"And what did he just say?"  
>That he joined Jaegers so he could live to tell Night Raid about you and your willingness to put Honest behind bars.<br>"Well that's not a big secret."  
>"To us. But their spy network doesn't seem to reach into this castle. He is convinced that helping you with that would get the job faster and with less bloodshed then assassination by Night Raid. He wants their help in pulling revolutionary army back so you'd have opening to do what needs to be done."<br>"Can't argue with you there, the boy really is naive. He thinks whole army will just move back so one man on enemy side can maybe fix the problem, and even if, that after that rebels will just happily disband and return to their homes, while we would leave it alone and not give chase to the traitors leading the revolution?"  
>"Needless to say the Night Raid member was just as skeptical as you on the matter, but for now she let him be."<br>"I see..."  
>"However he has been given a warning – they are to soon come to capitol and check on him. If his plan fails, which it obviously will, he'll have to choose a side on that day – us or Night Raid.<p>

If he chooses our side, then obviously they'll have to kill him.  
>"And if not I'll kill him myself." Budou finished off that part of her sentence.<br>"I'm not sure who'll do it, but indeed someone will have to."  
>"However, if he does choose our side and we manage to protect him, then vast amounts of inside knowledge on Night Raid we could never hope for before will be opened to us.<br>And with him already wanting to side with you, we'd have a great ally in convincing Esdese to not protect prime minister from long overdue justice.  
>"I see, his strategic value is indeed great, as risky of a card he may be to play".<br>Seems Budou was beginning to see her point and the benefits of giving Tatsumi a chance.

"So how do you propose I handle him? You do realize that knowing what I know I'm obliged to keep him under twenty four hour surveillance. I cannot allow a possible assassination of emperor due to my own negligence or misplaced trust!"  
>"Surveillance is my specialty, I'm his guardian for that matter. I'm already assigned to his investigations team, so I would by default spend at least 13 of the day with him, and that duration can be extended if needed" she calmly replied.  
>"That's still not full twenty four hours" he scoffed.<br>"Well the boy does want to meet you. So why not take him to your drills or what is it that you do nowadays in the castle. You could understand him better, while keeping an eye for him, and show him the better side of imperial military. Corrupt imperial guard in capitol and sadistic mass murdering superior aren't exactly helping him build good image of our side.  
>It's only the current Jaegers that help him stay where he is at this moment in time, but the deciding factor will be you."<br>"I guess that covers most of his day. And what about the nights?:  
>"They should be spent at Jaeger quarters. If he tries anything stupid, first people to be able to stop him without killing him on the spot are them. Also their chambers are quite far from prime minister's and emperor's, further deterring any stupid ideas. I will also keep my eyes on him as well."<br>"Very well, then I guess our course of action is decided."

Now about Esdese and other Jaegers – anything I should be wary of?  
>"Nothing major compared to Tatsumi, but few notes should be taken here.<br>Esdese's agenda save for making Tatsumi hers is unknown to me. A lot about her behavior and personality does not make sense, especially her loyal service given her dominating personality.  
>But for now I can only speculate while we need concrete information.<p>

As for Jaegers I will leave that part for you to read in the report, but long story short, albeit from different backgrounds, they look like a reliable and sane group of people. Only things I'd like to add on top of that is that Kurome is the least mentally stable of the group, and Wave's in love with her, that might be a major factor in his actions.

"I see, thank you for your hard work, I will do my best to not waste your sacrifice" he replied in a tone that sounded caring, sporting a gentle look that his face was not fit to display.  
>"It's what our family does for generations and hopefully will for generations more to come", she smiled warmly as she left her sit and headed for the exit after the longest reunion she had with her father in years.<p>

**Jack Bellows' interview**

Izabelle's interview lasted a solid hour with occasional shouting from great general heard even in the hallway where rest Jaegers awaited.  
>Finally she came out followed by Budou who simply shouted "Jack Bellows!" and once again slammed the door shut the moment Wave's combat teacher and former superior entered his office.<p>

_'I hope it'll go better then it did with Izabelle. I'm far too old for this "scream your head off to get your way with me" shit. My fists are itching when assholes like that try to have their way with me, superior or not'_, Jack thought to himself.  
>And he meant business. Back in military there was no one for miles who could even start measuring up to him in hand to hand combat. His lack of interest in taking a higher position in military as well as his unreal combat skills are what kept him as combat instructor in his unit. But everyone for miles knew one thing – you do not do shit that pisses Jack Bellows off. Friendly and understanding as he may be, once the line gets crossed all hell would brake loose.<p>

"Take a seat." the great general begun their interview.  
>The first real interview, as obviously conversation with Izabelle had nothing to do with interviewing the rest of them would go through.<br>His basic goal was to learn their believes, opinions of empire, revolutionaries and most importantly behavior in case of superior's defection,to ascertain where their loyalties truly lay.

"Let's begin then. - reason you joined Jaegers?"  
>"Are you asking the reason I was asked to join, or the reason I accepted?"<br>"Both."  
>"I was asked to join due to my teigu and being Wave's former martial arts teacher. General Esdese wrote in her letter that she was very pleased with his performance and someone with equal or better combat skill and character would be a great asset to Jaegers."<br>"Aren't we the modest one" Budou cut him off.  
>"Please talk that over with general Esdese, those are her words" Jack cut off Budou's reply.<br>"Very well then. About the teigu, what does it do?"

"Diamond shell allows the user to create protective field that will stop any attack with enough kinetic force or piercing power to be deemed dangerous. In short it stops punches, explosions, missiles, needles, arrows, all that sort of stuff.  
>The main feature however is the ability to cast those fields not just on the user but other chosen people as well, effectively providing solid protection against any assassin cheap shots such as ground explosives, cutting wires, poisoned needles, long range sniping etc."<p>

"Sounds too good to be true".  
>"Of course there is a catch – stopping the attack costs energy, which has only one source – the teigu user himself. It can't be up indefinitely, though it is very energy efficient when stopping small area of attack blows such as arrows, sword slashes or cutting wire."<br>"I see, so basically your role is to prevent any easy kills and destroy their element of surprise, giving Jaegers an even start".  
>"That about sums it up."<br>"Very well. You're also a specialist in broadsword and hand to hand combat, right?"  
>"Yes, I've been training Wave those past few days. But that matter is more for showing then talking" he ended his reply to that question.<p>

"Ok I know now why they took you. And why did you agree to their offer?"  
>"I go with the flow. The strong are called to battle and there they learn of the world's flow and their place in it. Also seeing Wave again was another good reason to go."<br>"A rather strange philosophy, if I may say so."

"Nothing strange about it – fighting always happens to determine the order in nature. If you accept it's result, you can leave in peace till the next battle, protecting the weaker ones and not bringing the anger of the strong on them by defying. Sometimes you win and are the force who sets the rule for more people, sometimes you lose and are ruled by more people. As long as you don't deny the natural order, things turn out well and rarely is anyone oppressed more then need be.  
>And if they are, then naturally a new force will arise to overthrow them. As long as you're open minded and don't let anyone else's principles or doctrines blind you to the world's flow you should be fine with few bruises at best. At least that's what I believe."<br>"I believe you made your point clear here." - Budou cut off further discussion on the subject.

_'His go with the flow attitude probably means he'll defect to the side that's most likely to win – hard to believe his so respected in the military.'_

"So what's your opinion on current state of affairs in empire?"  
>"Remember the part about new force raising of current one is too oppressive?" - well that's not mine, but world's opinion on the subject. I just humbly agree. Soon the battle will take place and who knows what happens.<p>

"Then I need not ask your opinion of the revolutionaries then?"  
>"Indeed, that is unnecessary."<p>

"And what would you do if your superior were to defect to the rebel side?"  
>"I would read it as sign of the change in the world, but my own allegiance wouldn't be affected by that anymore then it would be by defection of some grunts on guard duty. It's the flow of the world I read and act upon, not single individuals'."<p>

"I see...well that concludes the interview, thank you for your time, captain."  
>"My pleasure." Jack got up from his seat and they both walked to the door.<br>_'That wasn't so bad. Just what did she say back then to get him screaming?' _he wondered.  
><em>'The main reason this man is in the military must be his combat prowess. I'm looking forward to seeing it. As for his loyalties I think it's safe to say he's a neutral type. He wouldn't defend the prime minister, nor would be attack him of his own volition.'<em> Budou pondered Jack's attitude.

**Julia Ederson's interview**

"Let' us start – reason you joined Jaegers and why they invited you."  
>"It's an honor to meet the great general Budou" she bowed before taking a sit.<br>"I was enrolled to Jaegers as the new sniper. Previous iteration of the unit lacked such person and was constantly harassed by Night Raid's sniper attacks."  
>"Hm, that makes a lot of sense. And why did you accept?".<br>"My family served in the army for generations. Being called to serve in special unit is a privilege and a honor I would not dare deny"  
><em>'She seems like a very reliable and loyal person'<em>

"What is your opinion of current state of affairs in empire?"  
>"As a member of Jaeger's corruption investigation cell, it's obvious my answer will be that it's bad, and we're the ones assigned to do something about it."<br>"Go on.."  
>"We've recently started our operations and already we shut down a gathering place for rebel spies and made many arrests. Though what I'm really looking forward to is investigating the corruption of nobility and military."<br>"How so?" her answer piqued his interest.  
>"The rebels are dangerous, but many of them I can understand. To put it simply I see them as an effect. While the actions of corrupt nobility and army officials can be easily identified as the cause. Kill the problem at it's root, and rest will fall into place on it's own."<br>"That is a very intelligent approach" Budou praised her attitude.

"Ok then, last question – what would you do if your superior or comrade were to defect?"  
>"I would reason with them and point out the flaw in their logic and behavior. If they were beyond reasoning with I would report them to their superior, after stopping them myself or with fellow Jaegers, should they prove to be to dangerous to leave unchecked."<p>

_'This girl seems to have all her screws in the right place. She will be a valuable ally in our endeavor to cleanse the empire of his corruption.'_

**Kurome's interview**

"I see you already took a seat without being asked." Budou scoffed at girl who was busy getting comfy in her chair and eating her cookies.  
><em>'The doping for <em>_im__perfect assassins, huh?' _he though to himself.

"I told you he'd win." she said out of the blue.  
>"Huh?"<br>"Wave vs Prime Minister's son."  
>"Oh, true...but here and now let's talk about you."<br>"Ok.".  
><em>''I can skip question about why they took her and why she joined – imperial assassin training program doesn't leave any failures alive and the trainees don't get a say into where they get dispatched to.'<em>

"What is your opinion of current state of affairs in the empire?"  
>"I don't care. I just want to kill Night Raid and especially my sister who betrayed the empire and me."<br>_'Well at least defection to the rebels is not an issue.'_

"And what is your opinion about rebels?"  
>"I said already I want to kill them" she replied with indifferent face.<p>

And what would you do if your superior were to defect to the rebel side?  
>"I said already I want to kill them. Are you stupid?" she replied with indifferent face but clear aggravation in her voice.<br>Budou's face would turn red with anger, had it not been that the one sitting in front of him was a girl and she just declared clear undying loyalty to the empire, misguided as it may be.  
>"I believe we are done here, thank you for your time" he concluded as he walked her to the door.<p>

**Tatsumi's interview**

"Tatsumi!"

"_So here comes the hard part"_ they both thought the same thing at the same time, Budou trying his best to remember what his daughter said about Tatsumi's background to not radiate contempt for the boy, while Tatsumi doing his best to not summon incursio and start fighting at the mere sight of the man.

"Former Night Raid huh, forgive me if I don't start trusting you the moment you walk through my door." Budou's straightforward nature didn't help him to start conversation on the right foot.  
>"Your stubbornness in protecting this empire's corrupt is almost admirable" Tatsumi hissed back at general remembering how he stopped his and Lubbock's escape costing the latter his life.<br>"You invaded the imperial castle, were you expecting red carpet treatment?" Budou snarled at the boy.  
>"Your beloved Wild Hunt forced us inside, we just wanted to take our leave!" Tatsumi stood up from his chair eyes blazing.<br>"That group of freaks is trouble wherever they go" Budou managed to redirect his anger at their common enemy.  
>"When I get my hands on them, they'll be begging for something as simple as trouble." Tatsumi sat down in the chair, head down, slamming his fist down on the table, as he recalled how Esdese informed him it was Wild Hunt member that killed his friend.<p>

"I don't want to do this, especially in their defense, but if you stir trouble I will catch you and execute you if needed" Budou gave the boy a stern warning, but it didn't have one forth of the impact he'd expect, as Tatsumi was in depressed state over the loss of his friend, and couldn't care less for threats of any kind.

"...for now I have an empire to fix, and corrupt scum to put behind bars or hopefully on death row. My score with Wild Hunt can wait till that's done" Tatsumi started to pull himself together.  
>"That's the right approach" - Budou calmed down, as he could sense earnestness in boy's words.<br>_'I better just move on with the interview. Any more unplanned questions and we'll end up at each other's throats'_ the general decided to make this interview shorter, saving most of his questions for a better time.

"So what made you join the Jaegers?" - he asked wondering if his response would match Izabelle's report.  
>"Well...basically you."<br>"Oh? First time a person wants to meet me after getting taste of my adremmelech." General decided to play the fool.  
>"...it's because I heard that you too want to cleanse the empire of it's corruption and set it straight.<br>Killing the ones who slaughtered innocent people for fun and their own profit, be it literally or through outrages taxation, was the right thing to do, I don't regret any of it" Tatsumi certainly didn't mince his words in front of the general.

_'Does this boy want me to kill him right now?'_ General was at the moment more shocked at his bluntness then the meaning of confession.  
>"But another friend made me realize, that every kill done by Night Raid speeds up a revolution that will mean a mountain of corpses, many of those innocents, regardless if it succeeds or not. I just wanted to see guilty punished, and corruption stopped. Something the imperial guard nor the military higher ups did not seem to care for. Only Night Raid provided any sort of justice in this rotten empire.<br>_'Can't blame you there, brat'_ Budou thought.  
>"But general Esdese gave me the power and the chance to make that change happen myself, from the inside. Obviously I wasn't too trusting of her offer – she's not known for being defender of justice and protecting the weak. But it was better then being executed, and the knowledge that you're also willing to deal with the rot eating away at this empire made me decide to accept her offer and see it for myself. With two of empire's most powerful generals, this thing might stand a chance and prevent a full scale war."<br>"That's some strategy you got there, brat" he replied giving Tatsumi his stern look.

"Well then let me ask you this – how do you see the rebels now? What are they to you, what will you do if you meet them?"  
><em>' Does he know about my meeting with Night Raid?!' <em>Tatsumi's heart raced for a second.  
><em>'Hold it dumb-ass. Everyone knows about them coming for you, you're officia<em>_l__ly a traitor and #1 target for Night Raid, chill' _his logic started kicking in.  
>"I arrested some just yesterday. For now I will capture and detain them. The more I hinder their plans, the later will they be able to launch a full scale attack on capitol.<br>And the extra time can be used to deal with the most vile abuses of empire's citizens, improving life for everyone and giving revolutionaries less reasons to go through with razing empire to the ground."

"Nice answer, though I don't trust it fully. Next question – what would you do if your commander defected from the empire?"  
><em>'Opening a bottle of champagne would be a good start'<em> Tatsumi thought to himself  
>"That depends on the reason. If she would give me a convincing enough reason to do so, I would join her. If it was for any underhanded or sleazy reason I would fight her."<br>"Given who's your superior I'd suggest running in latter case, but at least you got some backbone there." Budou commented.  
><em>'Just as she said - kid's about values, not loyalties. Odd attitude, but I still have easier time trusting someone like that then someone like Esdese'<em>

"Last two questions now."  
>"Do you plan to assassinate the emperor?" - any signs of understanding or lax atmosphere were gone this very instant. Budou's ferocious eyes were fully focused on Tatsumi's face looking for even slightest hint of deception of wavering.<br>"Never." - the answer came out before even drawing a single breath.  
>Tatsumi's face showed nothing but unwavering strength of his resolve, his eyes looking straight into great general's without any fear.<br>"Neither me nor Night Ra.."  
>"Enough. I don't need to hear it. Your eyes gave me the answer I needed." Budou cut his reply short.<p>

"Final question then and here you're free to give your reasoning.  
>Given your past, why would I believe that being surrounded by many corrupt officials, some in this very castle, you'll choose the legal route, rather then pulling a Night Raid style assassination and run?."<br>"As I already found out, running from here is not easy. And I have at least three reasons not to pull such number here."  
>"Let's hear them."<br>"First, I could do it only once. After that I would be pursued, and regardless if caught and killed or not I could not freely repeat such a feat again in this castle."

"Secondly any assassination would give credit to revolutionary army and speed up the time of their full on assault – something I'm not looking forward to anymore.

"Lastly I would betray my fellow Jaeger's trust and destroy any chance of building anything more serious here.  
><em>'Hm, so you're starting to feel camaraderie with your new squad?'<em>

"Ok I guess that will be all for now. Don' expect me to fully trust you anytime soon, but today you made a small step in the right direction.  
>Don't waste it, betrayal of my trust is punished by death...with my adremmelech." he finished up their conversation with healthy reminder of consequences that awaited traitors of the empire.<p>

Tatsumi was in no mood for a verbal fight. Even small step leading to building that bridge was worth it and he had no reason to burn it now. He just let Budou escort him out and call in the last member of Jaegers.

**Wave's interview**

"No need to sit down, as this will be brief" Budou surprised Wave with this sudden command.  
>"Do you wish to join the royal guard and serve under me, rather then Esdese?"<p>

The question echoed in Wave's head, as clearly the general was not planning to go back on it or ask any other questions this day.

"Next Chapter – Najenda's decision"


	9. Chapter 9 - Najenda's Decision

Author's note: Back after a system shutdown and x-mass and playing online game too much break;) Your reviews and favorites even when I was away reminded me I got awesome story to finish so I'm back bitches!:)

"Chapter 9 – Najenda's decision"

**Desert city of Sha'naah the next morning.**

Yesterday's celebration was still buzzing in Grazer's head, but this was no time to be taking it easy. Esdese would surely return, seeking revenge and completion of her objective by razing the city to the ground. More over he, Akame and Zenif were on a different mission, saving the city was an unplanned detour.  
>Now that nearly everyone was asleep as a rock in their houses, with more vine then blood in their veins, he could safely sneak past unwanted attention to the safe house where Akame and Zenif were told to stay for the night.<p>

"Well if isn't Mr drink it and eat it all, gracing us with his gluttonous presence!" ultimate teigu user's welcome was as chilly as the desert morning.  
>"Scrooge." Akame seconded, with face that expressed far greater grudge then the light insult leaving her lips."<br>"Hey I can't help some things, all right?  
>Anyway, fun time's over – what's the status on Esdese?"<br>"Not good. She already covered one third of the way to capitol. Judging from her speed she must be using a danger beast to ride." he concluded his report.  
>"Then she'll be here in two days or so. Ok, pack your stuff and meet me 3 miles to east from eastern city gate. Try not to attract any attention."<p>

While the two left the city to the meeting point, Grazer caught few sober higher ups of revolutionary army and ordered resuming evacuation into underground tunnel network surrounding the city. Evacuation which begun in secret right before his fight with Esdese, which was used to buy time for as many escapees as possible. The unexpected victory put that plan on hold, but with Esdese rushing back to the scene, this was no time to be taking it easy.

After passing the orders to his subordinates in the city he too left it and met up with his fellow Night Raiders. Rest of the morning was spent on retrieving the healing teigu for Najenda, which thanks to shambhala and Akame's agility was a cinch. Sadly the commotion of previous day prevented Zenif's energy crystal teigu from getting a proper recharge, and Grazer was forced to "donate" his own energy for their teleportations.  
>Exhausted, but successful they returned to Night Raid HQ right about lunch time.<p>

**Night Raid HQ, lunch time**

"Took you long enough! Lemme guess, this bum was procrastinating!" Mine yelled her head off pointing at Zenif.

In reality thanks to shambhala, even with detour to deter Esdese's "happy morning eradication" they took less time then expected. But Mine was on pins and needles from few days, thinking about every second that Tatsumi was in that ice witch's grasp and away from his friends and mostly her.

"Apparently not long enough for you to grow some" he replied with blank stare aimed at her chest.  
>"Sh-shut up you trashy PERV!" their back and forth once again beat life into Night Raid HQ, which due to certain teigu coming back to life was unnaturally neat, clean an ordered, totally unfitting of secret rebel hideout.<p>

"I see you all made it back in one piece, as expected" Najenda calmly walked down the stairs, taking her seat in dining hall to hear their report.  
>"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew who we met on our way to the teigu" Zenif grumbled.<br>"Huh?" Najenda tilted her head to the side, her single purple eye widening a bit.  
>"We had a little face to face with Esdese. She decided to pay a visit to our base at Sha'naah, and introduce it's citizens and our forces to imperial depopulation program." Grazer broke the uncertainty.<br>"Don't tell me you fought her?!" Najenda rose from hair chair shocked at the report.  
>"Well I fought her..while kid here stole the show by sending her ass across the continent with his little teigu."<br>"I'm both shocked and relieved to hear that. How great were the casualties over at Sha'naah?" she continued.  
>"Few brave but stupid souls thinking shooting bows or charging with swords and few like-minded friends could kill her. Fortunately we arrived at scene soon after and they were the only fallen in this battle."<br>"Given it's Esdese, it's nothing short of miracle" Najenda pondered, resting once again in her chair.

"I on the other hand am bit disappointed it only ended with sending that sadist away" Leone scoffed.  
>"Well hoping that 3 of us could kill her, may be bit too much, as much as I'd like that" Mine silently accepted the result of battle.<p>

"Well since you mention that...you might get a shot at fixing that the day after tomorrow" Grazer's message shocked them once again with his tone bordering between dead serious and sarcastic.  
>"What?!"<br>"Say what?!"  
>"Can you repeat that?"<br>"We may get to fight her in two days, if you like." he calmly stated once again.  
>"Despite hurling her across the continent, she has found some deviously fast danger beast apparently and at this pace will be arriving at the capitol in around 2 days. So sarcasm aside, we have here what's called a golden opportunity.<br>On one side we have Esdese all alone without her Jaegers nor any other imperial soldier to back her up. Well, given her monstrous power it's not that great of advantage, but I'll take anything I can get.  
>On the other we have Jaegers, and most importantly your spy Tatsumi without her stalking his every move. A great opportunity to check on his allegiance and possibly take out some stray Jaegers before she returns.<br>The choice is yours to make, general" Grazer gave Najenda a quick overview of the situation.  
>"Or we can just sit here, fully heal general Najenda, and not open any of these cans of worms!" Zenif added his option to the mix, right before having a flower pot tossed at his head with sharpshooter precision by certain almost unknown female.<br>One would never expect him to dodge so quickly, given his under average physique.

"Guess some peop..I mean women, can't take a day without fighting," he muttered annoyed with the sudden exercise.  
>"You're more retarded then you think if you believe I'll just sit back and leave Tatsumi with that sadist!" she yelled.<br>"Personal feelings aside it is indeed too great an opportunity to pass by" Najenda concluded.  
>"Question is do we kill Esdese or get to Tatsumi.." she thought aloud.<br>"Obviously we're getting Tatsumi outta there!" Mine shouted.  
>"Grab him and run before he does something stupid, huh," Leone joined the discussion.<br>"That is a plan I can get behind" she summarized, partly due to memory of her last encounter with Esdese.  
>"Kill that bitch and majority of our problems end in a split second" Grazer backed the other possibility.<br>"It's hard, but it is most efficient" Akame seconded the balder plan.

"And is discussed so brazenly, because it involves certain ultimate teigu user, doesn't it?" Zenif added his snarly remark.  
>"Weren't you the one who said he can make it possible?" Grazer reminded Zenif his former gloating.<br>"Can does not mean want." he firmly stated his emotions.  
>"Wait what?!" Mine started to lose it. "You're chickening out cause big scary woman can mince "The great Zenif to ground beef?" she kept mocking him.<br>"Easy, let's not aggravate him here" Grazer tried to calm her down.

This was a very surprising development to Najenda. Mine's bickering was nothing out of the ordinary, but her superior going the diplomatic route, and trying to calm things down, rather then ordering a critical revolutionary asset to fall in line and help deal with empire's strongest was something she would never expect. Clearly he wasn't telling her something.

"Enough of that bickering. Zenif, I'm sure you realize the importance of taking down Esdese, and what would happen if we failed. Even with your young age and tendency to show off, you're intelligent enough to know all that, so why the refusal?"

"Well I guess Grazer didn't fill you on it so I'll fix that now" the laziest Night Raider fell back on the couch as he got ready to reveal more about himself and his purpose.  
>"Guess I should start from the start – that is why am I here at all. Don't get the wrong idea – I am not a member of revolution, nor it's supporter. So no one orders me around against my will." he made that part clear with dead serious voice.<br>"Then why are you here, with us?" Najenda asked the obvious question while biting her tongue to not yell at Grazer what the hell is he thinking bringing a non revolutionary army member straight into heart of most elusive and vital strike force rebels have.  
>"Zenif. I like my name. However to the imperials I would be known as Arms Master Zenif". His voice got a bit nostalgic.<br>"Each of ultimate teigu users bears a title appropriate to his role. That and much more. Among that the responsibility to use our teigu wisely. That issue was of no concern to the empire in the past millennium, as, no emperor was mad enough to try to unleash the terrifying power of ultimate teigu upon the land, especially with regular teigu being a sufficient means of maintaining the dominating position in the world.

Weather the emperor is good or bad, that is not a concern of Arms Master. Even if it were to be, the empire had a foolproof method of hand picking the "right" candidates for the role and throwing them out of the position should the emperor and his court decide their choice was ...rather unfortunate. That is also the reason you have not heard about any major revolutions on the past – for starters rebels of the past didn't get their hands on regular teigu, secondly even if they did, the ultimates would be used to wipe them out in a flash.

"I'm not here for history lessons, get to the point!" Mine was getting fed up with lengthy speeches.

"...All was well till Honest appeared on the scene." Something unpredictable then happened, something that made...you...happen." he looked around at all people around him.  
>"The current emperor has died at a way too young age, leaving only a child in his wake. Child who would be the next emperor regardless of it's age, due to royal blood.<br>Anyone with large enough brain to assemble a sentence knew who was behind all this. However there was no evidence and no one could formally accuse 2nd in the empire without iron proof, which he of course did not leave behind.  
>All seemed to be going in pretty gloomy and straightforward direction, but then something even more shocking and surprising happened. That time the current Arms Master has disappeared, or should I say died in unknown circumstances.<br>On the surface one might think "No big deal, simply need to find a new one". But the few that knew about ultimate teigu knew the deal wasn't just big. It was huge. Huge enough to flush all of Honest's plans down the toilet.

You see, the "foolproof method" for selecting an ultimate teigu user, requires all other's cooperation. If one ultimate teigu user needed to be "set manually" it would require others to use their ultimate teigu status to have the 4th ultimate obey their will and allow manual changing of it's owner. With old emperor dead you had exactly this situation. Three other users alive and well, all on empire's side. While not exactly full of love towards one another , matters of the state would take precedence over any personal quarrels and Honest would be chosen as Emperor's wrath user for the safety of the empire until young emperor would reach age of 16 – the time at which the ultimate attack teigu would recognize him to be of age and of blood to be it's rightful owner.

Of course it was never in Honest's plans to let that happen. Young emperor would contract a mysterious, incurable disease and tragically pass away at a young age...least until my predecessor decided to leave this world.  
>Without former Arms Master imperial means of controlling access to Ultimate teigu has been lost, and whoever Phoenix Forge would choose next would not be a person they could eject from the position unless killing him directly. But for that they would have to know who it was and find him. Something that without phoenix forge's abilities could not be done so easily and they no longer had any means of using it without it's chosen owner's permission."<p>

"I see...so without you they can't make emperor's wrath accept Honest as it's next user and so they will have to find and force or kill you" Najenda deducted aloud.

"Yes. But there is no guarantee that they will succeed, so prime minster's plans for young emperor's early demise had to be postponed as for now the only sure means of using emperor's wrath was waiting for him to turn 16.

"And just how do you know all that? You're not some old emperor advisor or general so how the hell you know all that?" Mine was still venting her frustration.

"The previous Arms Master told me...or rather left his memories inside the Teigu..sadly along with his corpse" Zenif's face took on a look of gloom never before seen.  
>Teigu itself contained all the information about it's use and others, that's how I learned all I know on the subject. He added the information about what happened and relations between ultimate teigu users, hoping the next person it chooses will not sell out the the corrupt empire and help prevent Honest.. or anyone with itchy trigger finger for that matter from getting their greedy paws on emperor's wrath. Ensuring that his will is seen through is the reason him here, while his courageous sacrifice – the reason you're here. Had the empire had access to emperor's personal teigu you'd all be burned to ash long ago."<p>

"So your purpose is to ensure ultimate teigu are safe and not to see revolution succeed?" Najenda asked him directly.

"Precisely. But don't get the wrong idea. No matter who would sit here in my place now, the fact they would not side with you would not change."  
>"Meaning?" Najenda's voice started to get on the angry side at this possible insult.<br>"Ability to use any teigu without any compatibility issues, replacing destroyed ones at snap of a finger, finding any teigu that exists with ease, as well as getting information about their users. These traits alone would make Phoenix Forge owner the most dangerous of all teigu users. If person like Honest or Esdese were to wield it, it could mean change of world's order, one that even other ultimate teigu users would not be able to stop.  
>The creators of my teigu knew it well and placed powerful restrictions to prevent such scenario. After all it's purpose is to maintain balance and existence of teigu, not plunging world into chaos.<p>

And so my teigu not only picks a person that meets very specific criteria, but also constantly checks if said person is still meeting them during the time of it's usage, or should I say "has not strayed from it's path".

"What do you mean by path?" Najenda asked, as she started to get more curious about the "rules" of ultimate teigu.

"Simply put Phoenix forge seeks a person who is a "crafter" at heart while fiercely opposing and rejecting a person who is a "warrior" or "ruler" at heart. Unlike most teigu that would seek a physically fit and strong people, Phoenix Forge seeks a person that is of average or below average physical constitution, dislikes combat, is not power hungry and most of all bears no killing intent, for any of these traits could mean attempts at using it's power for personal gain. Succumbing to any of these "temptations" could result in it refusing perform a given task, refusing to perform my commands for a time, or in more severe cases immediately ejecting me from it's owner position and seeking a new user. One that there is no guarantee would not join the imperial side, even seek them out himself.

"And the little smart ass here forgot to add that there's also the case where he himself can trigger the scenario, by willingly giving up his position without the 'need' to break any rules" Grazer added his 3 cents.  
>"So going forcibly with him might mean the end of whole revolution in a day or two, should things develop unfavorably for us."<br>"That little..." Mine was barely holding herself back from strangling their "secret weapon" this time for real.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but for me there are greater goals then your revolution, but hey, if we can help each other without getting in one another's way then that's great, and faith in that possibility is why I'm here" he wrapped up his explanation.

"Wait a sec. You said there are four ultimate teigu. Before you said there are just three." Akame pointed at him with serious stare.  
>"A..haha...busted huh?" he confessed.<br>"Well I didn't feel like singing the full story about them or myself back then, a guy has a right to have few secrets too, right?"  
>"Don't push it." Najenda's stare was getting dead serious.<br>"Relax, this time the number is real. Also the reason I didn't mention the 4th is because it has no combat ability at all, even less so then my Phoenix Forge with all it's restrictions."  
><em>'That, and I don't want neither you revolutionaries or Honest getting their paws on it's true secret, some things are best left sealed up and buried 10 miles underground'<em> he thought to himself.

"If it doesn't have combat ability then why is it an ultimate teigu in the first place?" Najenda was not about to let the matter go so easily.  
>"What is ultimate...depends on the one viewing things. The 4th "ultimate teigu" which I personally don't deem such, is "Sealed Imperial Library", a teigu containing the full and true history of this empire from over one thousand years ago down to this day. History books may be rewritten or burned to hide certain events of the past from future generations for "the sake of empire" or other not so noble reasons. But this teigu is the place where the full, unaltered truth is stored and closely guarded. However in this battle the enemy is not from the past, nor can he make any use of the 4th in combat, therefore I deemed right not to bother anyone with this information. Once the prime minister would be ejected from his position and a sane, responsible emperor elected to the throne I would personally see to it that he is informed of the 4th, and where to find it, to pass it to a responsible owner."<p>

"Fine, fine, who cares!" Leone jumped into the discussion. "But what about you being able to beat Esdese and all that gloating from before?".  
>"Obviously I was and am telling the truth...just not all of it at times" a slight sneaky grin appeared on his face.<br>"I am the best counter to her teigu's abilities that I know of, and I am willing to help you take her on, but I told you already – I cannot kill anyone. Killing intent is the most severe of breach of phoenix forge's rules and immediate ejection would follow, most likely before I would even make the kill."  
>"So what you're saying is that you'll weaken her abilities but we have to deal the last blow?" Akame asked for confirmation of her suspicion.<br>"Well...technically...yes. However in practice - no. I don't want her dead, not before I give her a chance to join our side".

"Our side? I thought you just made clear we're not on same side!" Mine started going at him again.  
>"I'm sorry Zenif, but Esdese is a cruel and wicked woman beyond redemption. There is no chance in hell she would join us, even hoping she'd listen to voice of reason, forgetting such things like morality, is still hoping for a bit too much with this woman." Najenda made her position clear.<br>"I don't know her too well that is true. But you don't know the truth of her teigu, which I do. And that is the truth I'm basing my will on."  
>"Najenda forget it. If he makes up his mind, nothing in this world can force him to change it." Grazer intervened in this quite lengthy conversation.<br>"Kid here's the deal. We meet and subdue her with your help. Then we'll offer her to join, you can be the one doing the talking, just to be sure no one is trying to trick you. But if that fails, you will let us do what must be done." he presented his offer to his troublesome protégée.  
>"That offer is acceptable" the young one concluded.<p>

"To you maybe!" Mine raged once more. "Are you forgetting about Tatsumi already? Who needs to deal with that sadist and her fits, forget all that, let's just get him outta lion's den and snipe us some Jaegers while at it!"  
>"Yeah, that's my vote too!" Leone reminded the whole room her stance on the subjects.<br>"Democracy is not how we run things here" Najenda cut the two off with grim stare.  
>"At least not in this case. However that is a decision I can't make on the spot. For now all retire to your usual daily routines, but make sure to keep your teigu and yourselves in top shape. I will announce my decision this evening at dinner." Najenda concluded the lengthy discussion and headed to her room.<p>

**Night Raid HQ evening, Najenda's room**

Najenda was not lying. The decision was extremely hard and full of risk no matter which path she would choose.

Leaving Tatsumi in capitol put entire Night Raid at huge risk of being either exposed or at least outclassed by the Jaegers in eyes of the public. And as Grazer many times said, "revolutions are fueled by passion and anger", which Jaegers were stemming with success right now. Another thing which has been touched by her superior was Tatsumi's presence unharmed in enemy ranks after officially defecting which was both costing revolutionary army losses in man and raising the risk that if Night Raid doesn't remove Tatsumi from sight, someone else from the rebel army will. Permanently.  
>The information about general Budou's hatred of prime minister was worth it's price...given it's not an imperial trap set up using a naive young boy to lure Night Raid out. Even if it's not, she could not just walk in front of entire revolutionary army and happily say "Good news, we've got man on the inside, an imperial general, the most loyal of all, he'll kill Honest if we leave the capitol alone for half a year or so."<p>

On top of that Zenif revealed to Grazer that Budou was the ultimate defense teigu user – the very reason rebel army couldn't just frontally attack the capitol. It was this reason alone that Budou is in the Night Raid's top targets lists along with Esdese and Honest.

On the second hand, the other reason rebel army wasn't planting it's banners in capitol was heading at maximum speed to reunite with her army and Jaegers in capitol. As powerful as she was, the Jaegers were a formidable adversary as well and their strength combined might be something even Night Raid won't be able to handle. Taking her out while she's away from any support is an opportunity one cannot so easily ignore. Also unlike Budou, this matter is simple and without any needless questions to be asked. Both her allegiance, and the danger she poses leave no doubts about the course of action that needs to be taken. Pure and simple elimination. Of course first she would have to let that boy face the reality of Esdese's personality, but her superior is confident in their trump card against her, and given it's Esdese – even an idiot would need no more then 15 seconds of talking to realize what kind of monster she is. And once that's done, it's down to business and off with her head.

That however would leave Tatsumi under empire's influence for longer then she'd like, and on top of that without her protection. Doubtlessly, as much as she hated to admit it, currently Esdese was the boy's guarantee of safety. Somehow it was hard to believe big green eyes and wide smile would win him any favors with Honest and Budou once she's out of the picture. With her gone he might be once again treated as an enemy, dragged into torture chamber and have all information about Night Raid extracted out of him...or what would be left of him anyway.

Both the choices carried great risks in doing, and even greater risks when not undertaken. It was one of the hardest decisions she had to make in her life...

**Night Raid HQ, dinner**

"Everyone one, eat up well and rest well. Tomorrow we're taking out Esdese...and saving Tatsumi" she declared.  
>"Whoa, hell yeah" Leone shouted.<br>"Difficult, are you sure?" Akame asked.  
>"Aren't you taking this a bit too lightly?" Grazer gave her a stern look.<br>"Well I'm on Esdese team no matter what the decision is." Zenif made his point clear.  
>"All right you two timing bastard! Get ready for some Mine justice!" Mine shouted with enthusiasm.<br>"You better not leave any uneaten piece" Susanooh's remark broke the atmosphere in a flash. 

Few minutes and best dishes they ate later...

"So Najenda, plan is bold, but why and how?" her undercover superior asked.  
>"As for why it's simple. No matter which I would choose, the results of abandoning the other in the long term were too catastrophic to allow. Even if it would mean eradication of Night Raid, leaving any of the two unchecked would result in the same, just delayed a bit. I believe at least here and now we have a shot, that may not be possible in the future."<br>"Ok then and what about the 'how'?"  
>"You're the last person who should ask that question, she gave him a stern look. Weren't you two the ones bragging about trump card against Esdese? That's what I'm betting on, sending just you two with Akame to deal with her."<br>"So the teams are already decided I see" he concluded.  
>"Yes. You, Zenif and Akame will...deal with Esdese (the word was assassinate, but she recalled the ultimate teigu's user view on the matter and consequences of crossing him, so she had to bite her tongue).<p>

"And we all get to drag Tatsumi back here by his ears!" Mine shouted with excitement. And thank you for not putting me on one team with that loser!" she shouted giving a clear loathing look at certain young member of the Esdese's team.  
>"Yes, without her our chances of success have increased significantly" he didn't kept her waiting long for his reply.<br>"*cough* Me, Mine, Leone and Susanooh who will infiltrate the capitol and bring Tatsumi in. Also this will be a covert operation, so this time it's preferred we stay invisible and not kill anyone unless forced to do so. Our goal is to sneak in, grab Tatsumi and sneak out, you got that Mine?" Najenda made sure the hotheaded sniper won't forget the importance of secrecy.  
>"Hey I'm your sniper, secrecy is my specialty!" she took that as an offense.<br>"Good, don't forget that."

"Keep your teigu in top shape, yourselves too. Tomorrow night we're going hunting." Najenda closed of the briefing.

**Chapter 9 end**

Next Chapter – "Empire's strongest vs revolution's smartest"


End file.
